FL mansion of Gianni Versace,assassinated on front steps by serial killer Andrew Cunanan in 1997,is put up for sale,asking price: $23 Million
Joe1orbit
It's really something, when you think about how a TOTALLY unknown person can
INSTANTLY achieve celebrity, at least in the true crime world, simply by
KILLING a celebrity. For GENUINE crime buffs, anytime the NAME of John Lennon
is mentioned, the name of Mark David Chapman IMMEDIATELY comes to mind. Mention
Rebecca Shaeffer, Robert Bardo LEAPS into the mind, Mention Sharon Tate, and
Charles Manson looms large, and of COURSE, mention Gianni Versace, and without
even thinking abut it, as if by magic, I am flooded with thoughts of Andrew
Cunanan, Gianni's assassin and a SERIAL killer as well, having harvested at
least FIVE men, and brilliantly capping off his serial spree with this
assassination of Gianni.
We learn below that the mansion in Florida that Gianni was just about to
enter when Andrew Cunanan walked up & assassinated him with two shots to the
head two years ago, has now been put up for sale. Asking price is a HEFTY
$23,000,000.00. Mucho buckos. :) I don't think a true crime buff is going to
buy this place, too darn expensive, and besides which, the assassination took
place on the outside of the house, right near the front gate, not inside.
Still, I bet that lots of tourists still go to the site to have their picture
taken, even today, 2+ years after the assassination.
I bet it'll be a little tough to find a buyer for this house. Price will
probably have to be lowered. You have to be TRULY rich in order to afford a
$23,000,000.00 house, and very rich people usually like to keep a low profile &
buy a SECLUDED house, not one that has tourists traipsing by by the dozens each
day.
You can view a color photo of this rather large mansion, taken from the
outside, at the following URL:
http://www.msnbc.com/local/WTVJ/128002.asp
You can also see a photo of Gianni, before he got slaughtered.
It's so COOL that EVERY news article on this story mentions not just the
assassination, but mentions Andrew by NAME. Truly he has achieved JUST as much
fame and celebrity as Gianni did, by a split-second act of assassination.
Take care, JOE
The following appears courtesy of today's Reuters news wire:
Saturday August 7, 1999
Versace Florida Mansion For Sale At $23 Million
MIAMI (Reuters) - The Mediterranean-style Miami Beach palazzo where Italian
fashion designer Gianni Versace was gunned down by a fugitive serial killer two
years ago is on the market for $23 million, a family spokesman said Friday.
``It's a spectacular house. It's really unique in the world,'' Versace family
spokesman Lou Colasuonno said. ``But the family focus has shifted. The South
Beach home is unfortunately now underutilized.''
Versace was shot to death in 1997 on the steps of his villa, and since then,
the site has become one of Miami's leading tourist attractions. Every day,
visitors to the glitzy South Beach neighborhood stop to have their pictures
taken in front of the iron gates where Versace fell.
The designer bought the property in 1992, when it was a shabby apartment
complex amid the colorful, refurbished Art Deco hotels of Ocean Drive. He
turned it into one of Florida's most audacious properties, a 20,000-square-foot
(1,800 square meter) palace with 12 bedrooms and 13 bathrooms.
Versace turned the house into a showplace for his talents, adding stained-glass
windows and a mosaic tiled pool done in patterns inspired by his designs.
The mansion, surrounded by walls, palm trees and lush vegetation, is the only
private home on Ocean Drive, which was transformed in a dozen years from a
haven for drug dealers, senior citizens and immigrants into a jet-set hot spot.
Colasuonno said while the price tag for the home is $23 million, no decision
had been made on whether to sell the home's furnishings, worth ``many, many
millions of dollars.''
Versace's murder on the steps of his home made headlines around the world.
He had strolled home from his favorite cafe on July 15, 1997, and put his key
in the mansion gate when Andrew Cunanan, wanted in connection with four
murders, walked up to him, put a gun near his ear and pulled the trigger.
Cunanan was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound nine days later in a
houseboat a short distance away.
Versace's sister Donatella and brother Santo took over the family's fashion
empire following his death. Gianni Versace SpA is based in Milan and has North
American headquarters in New York.
``When they're in the U.S. they tend to be New York-focused,'' Colasuonno said.
The property is listed with Sotheby's International Reality in Palm Beach.
-------------------------------------------------------
The following appears courtesy of the 8/7/99 online edition of The New York
Post newspaper:
SLAIN VERSACE'S $25M VILLA
GOES UP FOR SALE
By MALCOLM BALFOUR
New York Post, 08/07/99
MIAMI BEACH - Speculation swirled in South Beach yesterday over who would come
to call slain designer Gianni Versace's $25 million house a home.
The family this week announced it was putting up for sale the sprawling
20,000-square-foot estate called Casa Casuarina - and the news once again
turned the property into a tourist attraction.
The first time the manse became a tourist mecca was in 1997, when Versace was
gunned down at its gate by serial killer Andrew Cunanan.
"I wonder if Sly Stallone is going to buy it," said Flo Hoffstetter, 17, of
Queens as she stood dressed in Versace jeans and a Versace blouse outside the
mansion.
"He's Italian, and he likes art, so maybe he'll move back to Miami."
Versace family spokesman Lou Colasuonno said the hefty price tag is "realistic"
for such an opulent home.
"It really is an amazing palace - quite unique, when you realize it's the only
privately owned home on the ocean in South Beach," he told The Post.
"It's a special home for anyone with an eye for historic architecture,"
Colasuonno said, "but the Versace family believes it's not being used enough,
with their company headquarters in Milan and their business headquarters in
this country in New York."
The mansion was brought over to Miami Beach brick-by-brick from Spain in 1926,
said columnist Linda Marx, who visited Versace there several times.
"It's the most beautiful villa, with fountains in the courtyard and Greco-Roman
statues throughout. When you go in, it's like entering a dream world," she
said.
"It's like a castle, with fireplaces, with sconces on the walls and the most
beautiful mosaic tiles. And then the artwork. Versace really brought some
culture to Miami Beach," Marx said.
In the 1950s, the site was turned into the posh Amsterdam Palace. It was later
converted into a condominium, and then an apartment house.
Versace bought Casuarina for $3 million in 1992 and the adjoining lot for $3.7
million. He reportedly spent more than $13 million on restorations.
-------------------------------------------------------
The following appears courtesy of the 8/7/99 online edition of The Ft.
Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel newspaper:
Versace's digs -- scene of murder -- on the block
By LUISA YANEZ Miami Bureau
Aug. 7, 1999
One of South Florida's best-known landmarks, the South Beach mansion of Gianni
Versace, has gone on the market, two years after the Italian fashion designer
was murdered on its coral steps.
The Ocean Drive mansion on 11th Street gets little use since Versace's
murder by spree killer Andrew Cunanan, so his siblings, Donatella and Santo,
have decided to sell it.
"It's a fantastic, beautiful residence, but it's underutilized," said the
family's New York spokesman, Lou Colasuonno, on Friday.
Dubbed Casa Casuarina, the asking prize for the 12-bedroom, 13-bathroom
Mediterranean-style palazzo is between $23 and $25 million, depending on
whether the buyer wants its glorious furnishings, Colasuonno said.
"It has only been on the market a couple of days, but there's already been
some interest," Colasuonno said. Sotheby's International Realty in Palm Beach
has the listing.
The eye-catching villa, a popular tourist attraction even before Versace's
murder, is the only private residence along waterfront Ocean Drive.
Versace purchased the property in 1992 for $2.9 million and caused a stir
because he later knocked down an Art Deco hotel to expand the property. He also
paid nearly $4 million for an adjoining property.
Preservationists on Miami Beach had hoped the villa, built around an
interior courtyard, sporting ceiling frescoes, mosaic tile and a pool with a
floor design of a Versace scarf, would have been turned into a public museum.
Versace had loved staying at the mansion and was one of the early
celebrities to fall in love with South Beach. His presence there had attracted
other popular designers and models to the area.
But on the morning of July 15, Versace, 50, strolled to a nearby newsstand
to buy magazines. As he walked up the steps to his gate, he was ambushed by
Cunanan, 27, who fatally shot him in the head.
Cunanan fled, but eight days later, after a manhunt, he committed suicide
in a nearby houseboat.
Since then, the house has sat empty. Donatella Versace, once a frequent
visitor, returned in March to the mansion for the first time since her
brother's murder.
Now, the Versaces spend most of their time in the United States in New
York, the spokesman said.
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Grnbrier
Interesting post, Joe. As usual, your commentary is -- inimitable.
> I bet it'll be a little tough to find a buyer for this house. Price will
>probably have to be lowered. You have to be TRULY rich in order to afford a
>$23,000,000.00 house, and very rich people usually like to keep a low profile
&
>buy a SECLUDED house, not one that has tourists traipsing by by the dozens
each
>day.
You're absolutely right. It's an interesting *property*, and unique piece of
real estate, but as a *home* I don't think it would appeal to many people,
regardless of how rich they are.
It's so *right there in your face*--smack dab in the heart of tourists
swarming the sidewalks like cockroaches. It would be like having a mansion
right on the street in the middle of Times Square. Plus, I find it rather
ungainly as a home... I wonder if it's ever appeared in a shelter rag?
I don't see it fetching 23 million bucks...
Doogie
Reetswh
>For GENUINE crime buffs, anytime the NAME of John Lennon
>is mentioned, the name of Mark David Chapman IMMEDIATELY comes to mind.
John Lennon was killed in front of The Dakota, his apartment building on the
corner of Central Park West and 72nd Street. Apartments come up for sale in
that building from time to time, in the multi-million dollar range. There's
one for sale now (quite enormous, with a 40 by 60 foot gallery and multiple
bedroom suites) for $4 million, a bargain relative to the Versace manse.
(As an aside, The Dakota was also the setting for the filming of "Rosemary's
Baby.")
These *memorable* homes sure are expensive.
Reets
Joe1orbit
>Interesting post, Joe. As usual, your commentary >is -- inimitable.
Hello Doogie,
Thanks. I'll consider that a compliment. :)
Joe1...@aol.com wrote:
>> I bet it'll be a little tough to find a buyer for this house. Price will
>>probably have to be lowered. You have to be TRULY rich in order to afford a
>>$23,000,000.00 house, and very rich people usually like to keep a low
>profile
>&
>>buy a SECLUDED house, not one that has tourists traipsing by by the dozens
>each
>>day.
>You're absolutely right. It's an interesting *property*, and unique piece of
>real estate, but as a *home* I don't think it would appeal to many people,
>regardless of how rich they are.
Correct. On the other hand, if it was a MODEST 2 or 3 bedroom home with a
market value of $100,000 to $200,000, I bet that it would rather easily sell at
ABOVE market value, and the buyer just might be a serial killer or specifically
Andrew Cunanan, fan.
>It's so *right there in your face*--smack dab in the heart of tourists
>swarming the sidewalks like cockroaches. It would be like having a mansion
>right on the street in the middle of Times Square. Plus, I find it rather
>ungainly as a home... I wonder if it's ever appeared >in a shelter rag?
I don't know.
>I don't see it fetching 23 million bucks...
I agree with you.
Take care, JOE
>
>Doogie
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