Despite much opposition from Miami Beach residents, including uber rich owners at Faena House, Miami Beach Commissioners voted to pass zoning changes in favor of the famed Aman hospitality firm, one of the world’s most exclusive hotel developers, on Wednesday to bring a luxury condo and hotel tower to the Faena District in Miami Beach. Although this is only the first vote for the zoning changes, it’s still a huge step for the proposed tower which will next be going to the Miami Beach Historic Preservation Board for their recommendation before returning to the Commissioners for a second vote.
The proposed Aman Hotel and Condo Tower in Miami Beach is a joint project between OKO Group’s Vlad Doronin, who is currently building Una Residences in Brickell, and Len Blavatnik’s Access Industries. The billionaire duo is planning the project for the current site of the historic Versailles Hotel located at 3425 Collins Avenue which was built in 1940. They plan to completely gut renovate the existing Versailles Hotel and create 56 hotel rooms which will be designed by Belgian architect Jean-Michel Gathy. Further, a 23-unit condo tower, designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, will be built on the southeast end of the property, right next to Faena House. The condo tower is the portion of the proposed project that is causing the uproar with the zoning change because the tower is planned to be 250 feet tall, while its neighbor (Faena House) is only 203 feet tall. Owners at Faena are upset by the proposed changes for fear of losing views since the Aman Tower will be built higher and closer to the boardwalk, which could affect their values.
The Miami Beach Aman Hotel & Resort would be the 4th Aman property in the United States. The others are: Aman New York, Amangiri in Southern Utah and Amangani in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Tell us your thoughts on the proposed zoning changes to accommodate Aman Miami Beach. Please contact Miami condo specialist and Broker Associate at Douglas Elliman Real Estate, Michael Light. You may reach Michael directly at (786) 566-1700 or via email at michael@miamicondos.com.
