Alan Faena has gobbled up another Midbeach hotel to add to his eponymous Faena District Miami Beach. This time, it's the petite Mediterranean revival Claridge Hotel which began its life in 1928 as El Paraiso Apartments. At $14 million, the Claridge is a steal compared to the $100 million Faena and billionaire partner Len Blavatnik paid for the Versailles Hotel across the street in August. Then again, commissioning two Pritzker Prize winning architects, as well as Hollywood darlings Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin for design work on various parts of the Faena District suggests money is not much of an object for these two.
And Faena doesn't seem to care much about professional titles, either. Artist Thomas Heatherwick is designing a tower for the Art Deco Versailles, replacing a 1950s addition to the hotel that will be demolished. Heatherwick is no architect, although he did design a building in Singapore that looks sort of like a cornucopia with broccoli in it, but no matter. Faena describes him as the "Leonardo da Vinci of our time."
· 'Genius' Thomas Heatherwick To Design Tower Behind Versailles [exMiami]
· Claridge Hotel Added To Faena District in $14 Million Sale [exMiami]
· Faena District Coverage [Curbed Miami]
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