Miami Beach Luxury Real Estate Sees More And More Historic Homes Bite The Dust

By Author: Andres Leiser
Total Articles: 34
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It seems that more and more historic luxury homes in Miami Beach real estate are being demolished. They are being replaced with more modern designs. And there isn't much anyone can do to save them. There isn't any law on our books that can save an historic house from being demolished if that is what the owner decides to do. As long as the Design Review Board is presented with a new plan that they have no objection to, then they are going to approve the demolition of the historic home. There is a lack of protection of pre-1942 luxury Miami Beach architecturally-significant homes and it is starting to get serious. There is a steady stream of applications to the Design Review Board for total demolition of historic homes. The Miami Design Preservation League has been provided with the following information, from the Planning Department, that shows that the situation is much worse than expected. From 2007 through 2001, there have been 13 applications for total demolition of pre-1942 Miami Beach real estate homes. Then, in 2012 alone 24 applications for total demolition have been filed for such Miami Beach real estate homes. Most ...
... of the applications for total demolition were from speculators who had no intention of living in the newly built houses.

The Miami Design Preservation League has regularly received emails and phone calls dealing with this attack on the historic luxury real estate, almost weekly, from residents who aren't happy with the historic luxury homes in their neighborhoods being demolished. Most of the complaints come from waterfront areas like North Bay Road and the Venetian Islands and they ask if anything can be done to preserve the character and charm of their neighborhoods' luxury real estate.

More recently the publicity of the destruction of the luxury real estate at 42 Star Island Drive has hit residents very hard. The property is owned by Dr. Lenard Hochstein and his wife, a low-level housewife reality "star". They intend to demolish the classic three-story 1925 residence designed by Walter Degarmo, one of the most well respected architects in South Florida's history. In it's place, they want to build a new luxury two-story home. To support the demolition, Dr. Hochstein has submitted an "Engineering Report of the Existing Conditions" for the main residence, prepared by Reymundo J. Miranda, P.E. The report dramatically imply that the structural condition of the main residence is far from sound. No independent testing has been performed to corroborate the findings of the report.

There are some very angry and shocked residents. Some are trying to get a petition going. One person, Daniel Ciraldo, made an on-line petition and it has gotten overwhelming support. Mr. Ciraldo is a long-time Miami Beach resident and he has had enough. He has even taken the time to create a well thought out Power Point presentation to present to the Design Review Board about this affront to local real estate. Some say the demolition is an epidemic. Neighboring cities have been able to find solutions to similar troubles and Miami Beach voters will have to do something to deal with this issue. Something needs to be done to preserved the historic luxury real estate in Miami Beach.

Author's Bio

Andres Leiser is a local contributor for Constec Realty's Miami luxury real estate website. Andres Leiser has been involved in Miami real estate for over a decade. Join Constec realty services Today !