Ex-Fontainebleau owner unveils project near original Fontainebleau

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — After his effort to implicit Las Vegas’ Fontainebleau edifice fizzled out, developer Steve Witkoff unveiled immoderate caller ventures successful Florida this year.

And 1 is adjacent a acquainted name.

Witkoff’s eponymous existent property steadfast has drawn up plans to redevelop the Shore Club successful Miami Beach. The shuttered edifice has reportedly been closed since the pandemic deed and is astir 2 miles from the iconic Fontainebleau Miami Beach, whose proprietor reacquired the 1 connected the Strip from Witkoff aboriginal this year.

The Shore Club and the Fontainebleau are some connected Collins Avenue, a hotel-lined thoroughfare that runs parallel to the formation successful this famed enactment town.

Witkoff’s institution is looking to demolish portions of the Shore Club complex, trim the fig of edifice units, and physique a residential tower, according to plans filed this autumn with the metropolis of Miami Beach.

The connection follows the July announcement that Witkoff and Monroe Capital had teamed up to bargain a crippled of onshore successful downtown Miami for $94 million.

The buyers did not accidental successful the merchandise what they mean to build. But they noted the 4.7-acre tract — located adjacent a bid station, a pro hoops arena and plentifulness of high-rises — has zoning that allows for 60-plus stories and a operation of residential, hospitality and commercialized uses.

Changing hands

Witkoff antecedently owned 1 of Las Vegas’ tallest buildings, buying the Fontainebleau connected the Strip successful 2017. The $600 cardinal woody raised the imaginable that the unfinished hotel-casino — a towering reminder of Southern Nevada’s frenzied existent property roar and devastating clang — would yet open.

He unveiled a caller sanction and plans to unfastened the high-rise but suspended operation past twelvemonth amid the aboriginal chaos of the pandemic.

In a full-circle moment, the Fontainebleau’s archetypal developer, Jeffrey Soffer, acquired the skyscraper successful February from Witkoff done a process that lets radical debar foreclosure, spot records show, and announced plans past period to unfastened the 67-story task successful 2023.

Multiple attempts to get comments from Witkoff’s steadfast for this communicative were unsuccessful.

Florida links

Witkoff, who has a agelong past of buying and processing existent property successful New York City and different markets, is nary alien to South Florida.

He told the Review-Journal successful outpouring 2019 that helium lives successful Miami. His company, known simply arsenic Witkoff, lists an bureau successful Miami, and his past projects see the 231-room Hilton Cabana Miami Beach.

Soffer, meanwhile, acquired the 1950s-era Fontainebleau successful 2005 and unveiled plans for the 1 connected Las Vegas Boulevard that same year, teaming with erstwhile Las Vegas casino enforcement Glenn Schaeffer connected the project.

They broke crushed successful 2007. But soon enough, the roaring existent property marketplace crashed, the system imploded, and the Fontainebleau’s developers sued respective banks successful outpouring 2009, alleging the “unscrupulous” lenders backed retired of their committedness to concern operation of the multibillion-dollar resort.

Without the further funds, the task “cannot beryllium finished and volition ne'er open,” the developers warned.

‘I’m back’

Las Vegas’ Fontainebleau went bankrupt successful mid-2009. Billionaire Carl Icahn acquired it successful 2010 for astir $150 cardinal and sold it respective years aboriginal for quadruple his acquisition terms to Witkoff and partners.

In aboriginal 2018, Witkoff unveiled the resort’s caller name, Drew Las Vegas, and expected opening successful precocious 2020. He aboriginal pushed the debut to 2022 and said aboriginal past twelvemonth that helium was adjacent to obtaining a astir $2 cardinal operation loan for the project.

But successful March 2020, arsenic Las Vegas rapidly unopen down implicit fears of the coronavirus outbreak, helium suspended construction.

Soffer, proprietor of Florida-based Fontainebleau Development, teamed with the existent property helping of Kansas conglomerate Koch Industries to reacquire the property.

Last month, helium spoke astatine a media event astatine the recently renamed Fontainebleau Las Vegas.

“It’s benignant of a brainsick story,” Soffer told the audience, “but I’m back.”

Contact Eli Segall astatine esegall@reviewjournal.com oregon 702-383-0342. Follow @eli_segall connected Twitter.