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.
Bigger Bass Museum Reopening in Time for its Annual Art Basel Blowout, December 1st.
The Bass Museum of Art has announced it will reopen this December 1st, with its interior improvements and four new galleries, when its opening will coincide with the first day of Art Basel Miami Beach which is also the day the Bass traditionally hosts its big Basel party.
The museum will have 50% more gallery space within the same building footprint in a much more efficient layout designed by the talented architects Arata Isozaki and David Gauld. Gone, somewhat sanguinely will be that dramatic, and space hogging grand ramp that ascended to the upstairs gallery.
It would be hard to imagine finding space in the old museum to put up separate substantial shows by three noteworthy artists simultaneously. ArtInfo reports, however, that the new Bass will open with solo exhibitions by Ugo Rondinone, Mika Rottenberg, and Pascale Marthine Tayou, taking advantage of all those new spaces to show more art.
New Zika Zone is Almost All of South Beach
Photo by Phillip Pessar.
Five new locally transmitted cases of Zika, two locals and three tourists, have appeared in South Beach within the box of 8th and 28th Streets, spanning the Atlantic Ocean to Biscayne Bay, reports the Miami Herald. This isn’t good. Governor Scott announced this as Miami’s second Zika Zone of active transmission. As the Herald says:
Aerial spraying cannot be conducted amid the high rises and ocean breezes of Miami Beach because the airplanes fly low, about 100 feet above the ground, Frieden said. But crowds of tourists on Miami Beach, and the abundance of people in bathing suits and exposed skin, means more people may be infected.
Although there is controversy over the spraying (as it kills mosquito predators too) this is not good. Check out the Herald’s map of the affected area here.
Forget Dispensers, Miami Beach Needs Seagulls That Poop Sunscreen
Forget those complementary sunscreen dispensers, Miami Beach needs these robotic seagulls that poop sunscreen from a hilariously bad add campaign called “Care from the air”. The campaign was entered into the Cannes-for-advertising (it’s in Cannes), the Titanium Grand Prix, by sunscreen company Nivea, and mocked by the jury committee before it lost. In Adweek, Sir John Hagerty, an advertising legend and Jury member, said: “”You should see it,” he said. “It’s the most stupid thing I think I’ve seen in my whole life. I actually thought the Monty Python team had gotten together and entered it into [Cannes], to see if we would vote for it.”
40 S Hibiscus Sells For $9.35M
Earlier this afternoon, the ultra-modern, waterfront home located at 40 South Hibiscus Drive in Miami Beach sold for $9.35M, or $1,169 per square foot. The 8,000 square foot mansion has 8 bedrooms, 8 baths, 2 half baths and resides on a 24,000 square foot lot with 120 feet of prime waterfront and a boat dock. The luxury home sold in 329 days at roughly a 33 percent discount from its initial asking price of $13,995,000. For more information and pictures regarding the luxury home located at 40 South Hibiscus Drive, refer to the piece I wrote about it in October 2010.
