La Gorce Island, Estate of the Day

Today' estate in Miami Beach, Florida (thanks, designer) was once home to Cher and has also served as a temporary residence for Janet Jackson and Julio Iglesias. Cher bought the property in 1993 for $1.5 million and rebuilt it. She sold in 1996 for $4.35 million to Barry Schwartz, former chairman and CEO of Calvin Klein who sold to real estate developer Todd Glaser and investment partner Armin Mattli, president of Clinique La Prairie, the Swiss spa/hotel/medical center ten years later. The property was completely redone and then rented to Janet Jackson last year for $85,000 a month, followed by Julio Iglesias and then Douglas Cramer, executive producer of the TV series Dynasty. The home which once featured in Architectural Digest, has six bedrooms, cabana and gym, two-car garage and dock.Details include a large inner courtyards, archways, rosette windows, keystone columns, a two-story living room, formal dining and large media rooms and a lap pool. The kitchen has double sub-zero stainless steel refrigerators, Traulsen wine cooler, huge white marble island and Wolf gas stove, also opens to wide covered terrace. The master suite has a walk-in closet, private covered terrace overlooking pool and wide views, and a 3rd story living room with large covered terrace overlooking water. This home is listed at $14.9 million which seems a bit ambitious for the current market even though it is a beautiful home.
[via Miami Herald]












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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
designer38305495 May 18th 2008 1:22PM
Deidre -- it's always nice when you indicate where a property is located. I looked it up online and La Gorce Island is in the Miami Beach area.
DJ May 18th 2008 2:32PM
The thing that this home shows that so many others miss is that simplicity can be so beautiful and elegant. Every room, the grounds and exterior design are all so simple, clean and uncluttered, yet warm and inviting, not cold and austere as you see in many contemporary styled homes. And the checkerboard space in the yard is fun, funky and elegant at the same time. Kudo's to the owners, designers and decorators on this one!
Henry May 18th 2008 10:06PM
La Gorce isn't exactly where one would expect an estate in that price range. Most high end properties are on Palm, Hibiscus and Star Island. Notwithstanding, it's a very nice home. Exactly what a Miami home should be.
FD May 20th 2008 9:12PM
I disagree Henry. We do have many high-end properties also on La Gorce Island.
And when you see this particular one from the water, it is truly a beautiful piece. Even in this market, it takes more time but eventually it will be sold with a discount.
Best regards.
FD @ http://www.condhotel.com (Condo Hotel South Beach)
Daniel May 23rd 2008 7:43PM
As a resident of one of the other islands mentioned in the comments, I have to disagree that La Gorce is not a class A island - there are several large estates which have sold for $15M+ in the past year (one I recall was recently sold to the former CEO of Campbell Soup for $17.5M). La Gorce is a definitely good alternative for those who want to live in North Beach but want the security which North Bay Road does not have.