Back in the go go 2000s, when the real estate boom was revving up, a bold but sensitive restoration and expansion of the iconic, midcentury modern landmark Ankara Motel, called "Rivage," was approved by the Miami Beach Historic Preservation Board. Then the boom went bust, and Rivage fizzled away and died like so many other dreams. The Ankara waited.
Memories are short around here, and now that things are booming again a new Starwood Aloft hotel is trying to move into the old Ankara without much luck. They paid a visit to the Miami Beach Historic Preservation Board last month with a design for a tower addition that board members called "too corporate" and rejected. They're returning tomorrow for another try, with a revised design. Even now, a reliable source says the design just doesn't cut it, and they don't seem to have a chance.
But do they remember Rivage?
· Starwood's Aloft Coming to Miami Beach [exMiami]