Checking in on Construction of the Betsy Hotel’s Expansion, Including its Bridge Pool
The substantial expansion of the Betsy Hotel in South Beach, historically named the Betsy Ross, is well, well underway as the luxury boutique hotel grows into the adjacent art deco Carlton Hotel by an ally bridge, and a set of new buildings to the north of that which are being connected together at the roof level with a bridge pool. The expansion is being designed by Shulman + Associates, of Miami.
It’s not quite that crazy hotel in Singapore that holds up a gigantic boomerang in the sky, but looking at the pool enclosure from below shows you just how thrilling it could be when it’s done. Take a look at the rest of the expansion in these pictures.
South Beach’s Berkeley Shore Hotel Renovation Definitely Won’t be Done by the Date on the Construction Fencing
Maybe there’s just too much bold paint and too many wacky interior details to handle, but the historic Art Deco Berkeley Shore Hotel on Collins Avenue near the recently restored Haddon Hall, now just known as ‘The Hall’ even though the historic ‘Haddon’ part is still on the sign, is clearly going to miss the opening timeframe of ‘Fall 2016’ announced on the construction fence liner out front.
From the state of the gutted out historic building in the front, to the state of the shell in the back that looks like it just topped out, a few months of time is not nearly enough to get to the grand opening ribbon cutting for its big debut.
The hotel was purchased by its new developers way back in 2013, when I, at Curbed Miami, lamented loudly that the “total renovation” being planned could mean the loss of a cooky Alice in Wonderland-like aesthetic for something more ‘posh’ or ‘au courant’ and thus maybe even boring. Who knew that slightly boring new hotel would take so long to get built though? The least they could do is take down that “Fall 2016” sign of theirs. Humph.
Miami Hasn’t Seen a Hurricane in 11 Years, and That Big Beautiful Streak Will Continue
Hurricane Andrew, back in the day. See how perfectly formed it is?
My dad was just telling me the other day that Miami’s mini-mini Zika plague one the longer term might serve the same purpose as a good old hurricane, which our subtropical metropolis hasn’t seen in ages. Its been 11 years since Wilma hit us and we’ve been lucky since with placid skies, the occasional tropical shower, and a hardly Superstorm-calibre sideswipe by Sandy, but that’s about it. Meanwhile the people keep on coming, as tourists, new residents, and probably a lot of people trying to navigate the sketchy gray area in between. Hurricanes, dad pointed out, when they came would thin out the crowds for a while after, tempering Miami’s growth and opening the proverbial release valve a bit.
The still unnamed cluster of clowds that forecasters were considering might become something more serious over the weekend and my dad was keeping up hope as a potent crowd thinner never actually showed its very mildly threatening head. The most that happened were rainstorms keeping everything nicely waterlogged and Zika’s habitat perfectly wet. The clouds have thinned but thunderstorms are still predicted all week, and Zika’s habitation potentially a lot longer. Maiybe Zika will thin out the gridlock and traffic that Miami’s been incredibly affected by lately. Miami probably won’t be hosting any maternity fairs anytime soon.
SLS Brickell’s Jose Andres & Michael Schwartz Cheffed Restaurants Are Taking Fall Reservations
Bazaar Mar by Jose Andres
SLS Brickell Hotel & Residences’s two big-name, celebrity-chef-overseen marquee restaurants are both set to open this fall, at about the same time that the rest of that residential and hotel tower built by the Related Group and managed by SBE debuts.
SBE Group has just begun accepting reservations on OpenTable for Fi’lia, an Italian restaurant created by Miami-made Chef Michael Schwartz beginning October 15th, and Bazaar Mar, a seafood spectacular by big-time celeb-u-Chef Jose Andres, beginning Tuesday November 15th. The mid-Fall timing coincides logically with the first opening month or so of Miami’s high-season, when we’re getting lots of global attention but everyone in the world hasn’t arrived yet. Sounds like the perfect time to open a restaurant.
F’ilia by Michael Schwartz.
On Friday, Another New Britto Gallery Opened on Lincoln Road
Photos by Sean McCaughan
Artist Romero Britto has just plopped down another one of his eponymous art galleries near the east end of Lincoln Road, longitudinally opposite his ever-so-so-slightly older (but still brand new) gallery at Lincoln Road’s west end. The new Britto Store occupies the former Ricky’s Costumes space, and as of Saturday was still missing its ‘Britto’ signage. Not that anyone would confuse it for any other artist’s gallery. There are now more Britto Galleries on On Lincoln Road than any other retail brand except Swatch, 4D, or Starbucks.
On Friday, Mr. Britto officially opened the new Romero Britto Gallery, to sell all the commercially produced and consumer products that the slathers his signature graphic pop-art designs on, including everything from limited edition prints, to giant teddy bears, T-shirts, and table-lamps. Meanwhile, over by Lenox Avenue, the Romero Britto Fine Arts Gallery, which opened about a week ago, may look like a cloned twin, but this one sells one-off sculptures, paintings, and other creative stuff.
Faena Versailles Contemporary Renamed Faena Mar
So this happened, and almost nobody in the media noticed. On March 22nd, the Faena people updated the website oft their Faena Versailles Contemporary condo property to reflect a new name, Faena Mar. This separates the building from what originally was going to be its companion property, the Faena Versailles Classic, the restored Versailles Hotel, an art deco gem. That’s interesting because architect Brandon Haw originally designed Faena Mar’s oceanfront facade to be a mirror image of that on Faena Versailles Classic.
Faena Selling the Twelve Penthouses of the Faena Hotel, Where a Nightclub Used to Be
In the middle of the 20th Century, when the Faena Hotel was the Saxony Hotel, a penthouse floor was added that contained a rooftop nightclub, with an exterior non-stop elevator for access from the lobby. When Alan Faena redeveloped the hotel, the decision was made to turn that level, as well as the level below, into luxury residences, and to sell them as The Residences at Faena Hotel Miami Beach.
Fully furnished in sort of an Art Deco/Miami Modern flair, with lots of white and gold, penthouses begin at $2.5 million for a one-bedroom unit at just over 800 square feet, with the largest being over 3,300 square feet. Even though the hotel itself has been open for about six months, the Faena organization just recently started selling the thirteen units. The first went to “New Yorkers” for $5.5 million in June, which is probably why the sales site, which just went up a little over a week ago with these gorgeous interior photographs, only mentions twelve units.
Anybody Want to Buy The $20M Penthouse Jorge Perez Said He Was Going to Retire In?
When the Related Group’s One Ocean was under development, company President Jorge Perez declared he would be moving out of his large family home (in Coconut Grove, if I remember correctly) into the premier penthouse of this building. The kids were all grown up, so he and the wife were doing what empty nesters do, looking forward to retirement, and moving into a $20 million condo by the beach.
Then he changed plans. The building was completed, and fully sold out, and for some reason Mr. Perez decided to swap the unit for a place one tenth of the price at another project he’s developing, Auberge, in Fort Lauderdale. Or at least that’s the official story, because as anybody who knows anything about anything knows, it could all be marketing, baby. And $20 million is $20 million, even for a billionaire workaholic who has built half the condo buildings in Miami, like Perez.
The unit, which has been officially on the market for about a month comes with 3,500 square feet of indoor living space, four bedrooms, five and a half baths, wrap around balconies, and a rooftop terrace with hot tub. Gorgeous views of South Beach, the ocean, and some of Perez’s South Pointe developments from past real estate booms are complimented by white marble in the kitchen and baths, and Dutch wood floors.
North Miami Beach’s ‘The Harbour’ Reaches 79% in Sales
The Harbour, a set of condo towers which recently launched its sales center, has reached 79% in sales according to a project representative. The development has a variety of interesting amenities including close access to two large parks (Greynold’s and Oleta River), watersports, and land-based sports, etc.
A year ago, in a much healthier real estate market, the project had 80% of its units already reserved, allegedly. This means that in the intervening year almost all of those reservations would have converted to contracts, despite the cold market. Unfortunately there was no reply when we followed inquiring about the mix of units still available. Hopefully that’s not a bad sign.
The Fairchild Coconut Grove is a Lovely Little Tropical Modernist Building Very, Very Close to a Good Hospital
Are you a lover of tropical modernist architecture and indoor-outdoor living, but your health might be on the brink? Looking for a lovely little place to enjoy life in ease after your third heart attack? The Fairchild Coconut Grove is being built on a bay front site in North Grove literally next to Mercy Hospital, at 3581 E. Glencoe Street.
Being developed by Grove Bay Properties, the building is designed by architect Max Strang, with 26 units ranging from 1700 square feet two-bedroomers, to 4200 square feet four bedroomers. Amenities include private boat slips, a full time butler, a rooftop pool deck and gardens, bicycles provided to residents, gym, with steam, sauna, and hammam. Units have 11-foot high ceilings except for the penthouses, which are 13-feet, while ‘select’ units have private outdoor showers and servants quarters. Sales have not officially begun yet, although they’re probably quietly selling to early buyers anyways, as one does. Units begin at $1.4 million.
