For South Florida design
aficionados, "MiMo" is a must-know catchword. The stripped-down version of
"Miami Modern" refers to the architectural aesthetic that defined the style of
choice for trendsetters of the 1950s and ’60s. Characterized by geometric
patterns, oval shapes and bright colors, the style has seen a recent resurgence
in South Beach, an area now mostly populated by angular glass and steel
high-rises with sparse interiors.
With its broad verandas, gold-tiled lobby columns and expansive
porte-cochere, the centerpiece structure in the four-building Ritz-Carlton Club
and Residences, South Beach is definitively MiMo. "It was previously the Seville
Beach Hotel," says Edgardo Defortuna, president of Fortune International, who is
codeveloping the project with Lionstone Development. "And we found it
irresistible."
 For its first residential offering in Miami, the
Ritz-Carlton is transforming the 1950s-era Seville Beach Hotel into 45
fractional residences and 35 condos. (Click image to enlarge)
Located at 29th Street and Collins Avenue, the project is in
close proximity to Miami’s vibrant South Beach, yet just far enough north to
avoid the chaos. "South Beach has a renowned restaurant scene, lively clubs and
lots of shopping," explains Defortuna. "But people also like the privacy our
location offers."
Defortuna and Lionstone CEO Diego Lowenstein have restyled the
Seville—which was originally designed by Melvin Grossman in 1955—into a
residential tower with 45 fully furnished fractional units. Prices for 21 days
of use range from $100,000 for a one-bedroom unit to $500,000 for a
three-bedroom unit. Buy-ers can also exchange their time at the South Beach
property for time at the Ritz-Carlton Club’s other developments.
The remainder of the building will hold 32 condos. And three
new glass and concrete buildings adjacent to the hotel will house an additional
109 whole-ownership residences ranging in price from $700,000 to more than $16.5
million. Although the new development is the Ritz-Carlton’s fourth property in
the Miami area, it is the first one to contain fractional residences and the
only one that does not have hotel rooms. Project completion is expected by late
2009.
"The renovation will bring forward the flavor of the 1950s,"
says Lowenstein, "but with the service and amenities of today’s Ritz-Carlton."
Those flavors include an oval-shaped, two-story lobby with marble floors as well
as landscaping rife with swaying palms and sculptural fountains—one was once the
Seville’s diving board. Yet the interiors are decidedly 2007: touch-panel sound
and lighting controls, Philippe Starck plumbing fixtures, Italian cabinetry and
Miele appliances. There is also a fitness center, spa, restaurant, lounge and
concierge. "The richness of life is what South Beach is all about," adds
Defortuna. "South Beachers are young and modern, but they’re also rich and
elegant."
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