How About a Pool Lined With 24-Carat Gold? For $125 Million, Miami’s Most famous Residence, the Versace Mansion, Can Be Yours!

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Our Miami correspondent, Andrea Kavanagh, is back and house-hunting for us! Calling all billionaire art aficionados and free-spending, globe-trotting investors! Miami is all a buzz over Ocean Drive’s most infamous residence to hit the sizzling hot real estate market at a whopping $125 million. Casa Casuarina, also known as the Versace mansion, is an iconic oasis – a piece of art and a piece of history sitting in the middle of South Beach. Located at 1116 Ocean Drive, the mansion is also notorious as the former home of Italian designer Gianni Versace who was shot to death at the front gate in 1997. Grisly as that was, it remains one of the most popular tourist sites in Miami.

The listing, one of the most expensive homes on the market in the United States, has made national news and prompted a CNBC feature on Miami’s booming real estate market. High-end real estate prices in Miami are breaking records as foreign investors and wealthy families from Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, and Russia are looking for a safe place to store their cash.

So what will this $125M “investment” buy you in South Florida?

Casa Casuarina is a 23,462 square-foot gated home with 10 opulent bedroom and 11 bathrooms. It is highlighted by a 54-foot long mosaic pool lined in 24-karat gold, numerous frescos and ornate statues, arched doorways and an open air courtyard. It features an extravagant mosaic garden, European-inspired architecture and a tropical poolside paradise. Originally built in 1930, the property was designed to pay homage to the oldest existing house in the western hemisphere, the “Alcazar de Colon” in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Versace purchased the home in 1992 and invested approximately $33M in expansions including the south wing and the pool and garden area, along with his artistic vision. The home’s current owner bought the property in 2000 and has preserved and maintained all of Versace’s design elements.

Listed by Coldwell Banker, interest in this property has been high, as buyers and investors are pouring money into the ultra-luxury market in South Florida. Within the first week on the market, the listing agents received 15 calls from serious potential buyers and investors. Casa Casuarina is available for purchase as either a single-family home or hotel. For those with the means, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to own an unparalleled trophy property. For the rest of us, it is an opportunity to sit back and enjoy a sneak peek into this majestic master-piece, and dream.

Sigh. Somehow, they never show the kitchens in these palaces.

 

Candy Evans

Candy Evans

4 Comments

  1. […] on SecondShelters.com, our Miami correspondent, Andrea Kavanagh tells us the South Florida market is sizzling — just what I heard at NAREE. It’s from […]



  2. […] on SecondShelters.com, our Miami correspondent, Andrea Kavanagh tells us the South Florida market is sizzling — just what I heard at NAREE. It’s from […]



  3. Alex on August 13, 2012 at 7:57 am

    Wow… I'm speechless… and I'm not sure I'm speechless in a good way.
    I guess I'm having an Emperor's new clothes moment…



  4. Alex on August 13, 2012 at 7:57 am

    Wow… I'm speechless… and I'm not sure I'm speechless in a good way.
    I guess I'm having an Emperor's new clothes moment…