Editors Note: The Barbara Baer Capitman archives “Historic Threads” project is partly sponsored by the Department of State, Division of Historical Resources, and the State of Florida.
Now known most famously as the former home of Gianni Versace during the 1990s, in the 1980s the Villa Casa Casuarina was an apartment house called the Amsterdam Palace. At the time this article was written, the property was among the most sought-after in all of South Beach. Developers Gerry Sanchez and Amancio Victor Suarez bought the property for double its real estate value:
“The 26-unit, Spanish Colonial apartment building was purchased for $1.2 million, or $85 per square foot.”
The way Sanchez perceived it, the current price was not an issue:
“This is the jewel of Ocean Drive,” Sanchez said. Price per square foot is not important. When you select a woman, you don’t value her by the pound, do you?”
“The seller, Slim Kebaili of Geneva, Switzerland, said he has had offers ‘almost weekly’ since he bought the 56-year-old Amsterdam Palace for $600,000 in 1980. Sanchez has been bidding for the building at 1116 Ocean Drive since last Summer.”
Mr. Kebaili didn’t want to sell the Amsterdam Palace to just anyone. The property, which was a replica of the Christopher Columbus house in the Dominican Republic, had sentimental value to him:
“I saw what Gerry did on Ocean Drive and I felt I was putting it in good hands. Besides, he finally made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”
Tenants Staying Put, for Now:
“Right now, the Amsterdam Palace is home primarily to young professionals who pay rent by the month and have no leases. The tenants will not be asked to leave for at least six months, Sanchez said, although work will begin on the facade as soon as a building permit is issued.”
Sanchez had envisioned big plans for the site, though they had not yet been fully developed:
“The restored Amsterdam Palace will be ‘a national center of homage’ to Christopher Columbus… Sanchez plans a yearly Columbus Day parade on Ocean Drive that will culminate in a huge party – ‘bigger than the Statue of Liberty thing’ – in 1992, on the 500th anniversary of Columbus’ landing in America.”
