Last week, the Miami Beach Design Review Board approved Stuart Miller's latest Star Island mega-mansion, a gigantic mashup of a Bond villain lair, the Batcave, a Balinese resort, and even the faint whiff of a brutalist office building thrown for sheer shock and awe.
There could be something funky about the house. Certainly the combination of original Med Revival architectural details, and modern-day alterations that don't quite seamlessly duplicate the quality of the house, might make it look a little off. But this massive $40 million house has stuck on the market for three years more likely because, well, it's a sluggish market.
Thomas Kramer's former Star Island mansion is as wild as all the rumors say it is. Kramer was a playboy in the most bizarre sense of the word, making some smart real estate moves with his wealthy father-in-law's money but also getting involved in some wild flops, like a nightclub called 'Hell' that fizzled out after a few weeks.
Last year the site of the proposed house by architect Robert Bofill at 44 Star Island Drive that looks rather like a Star Destroyer from Star Wars listed for $24 million, after its owner fought the City of Miami Beach and historic preservationists to demolish the classy historic home on the property. Now, after six months it's still on the market, the old house is still there, and, well, nothing's budged.
