By Phillip D. Johnson
MICHAEL CAPPONI AND SARAH ARISON CO-HOST, MIAMI BEACH COMMISSIONER DEEDE WEITHORN PRESENTS HOME OWNER BILLY DEAN WITH HISTORIC RENOVATION PROCLAMATION DURING BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION
MICHAEL CAPPONI, chairman of CAPPONI CONSTRUCTION GROUP, and SARAH ARISON, a Board of Trustees member for the NATIONAL YOUNGARTS FOUNDATION, hosted a black-tie birthday celebration for WILLIAM H. DEAN, CEO of Washington D.C.-based engineering firm M.C. DEAN, at his newly renovated Miami Beach estate villa, TERRA VERITATIS.
Built in 1937, the 18,100-square-foot waterfront property on 2.5 acres was the former Miami Beach summer home to the late S.S. KRESGE, the original founder of Kmart. The historic estate combines the luxury of a tropical urban escape with the serenity of an exclusive oceanfront residence. Its stylish address and intimate setting ensure utter privacy, while the gorgeous $40 million remodel – the most expensive and extravagant in the history of Miami Beach – provides every creature comfort. Dean hopes to reinstate this palatial single-family waterfront estate as one of the premier residences in all of Miami Beach. The historic estate is an 18,000-square-foot waterfront property on 2.5 acres that combines the luxury of a tropical urban escape with the serenity of an exclusive waterfront residence.
As part of the redesign, CAPPONI CONSTRUCTION GROUP and DALE OVERMYER ARCHITECTS are honoring the estate’s historical roots while transforming existing spaces into casually elegant areas that evoke a resort-style feel. Originally a 6-bedroom, 8-bathroom house, the newly-remodeled estate will feature 15 bedrooms, 20 full baths, 6 half baths, and two kitchens in the main house. All this renovation means there will be a lot of site mess, bringing the need of earth moving equipment hire to tidy away the construction excess and turn the summer home back to its former glory. With site messes, there is a worry that there may be some obstruction to the area that can cause injuries if the proper signage is not put in place during clean up. Putting up the right safety signage will help mitigate this worry and keep everyone safe.
More than $40 million of renovations were made to the waterfront compound, completed by CAPPONI CONSTRUCTION GROUP, LLC and DALE OVERMYER ARCHITECTS, with the estate featuring a “Spa Wing,” an exclusive, lushly landscaped poolside beach club and cabanas, a breakfast porch that floats above a lap pool, a Venetian pool, a rooftop deck with an impressive view of Miami Beach, 670 square feet of water frontage, the largest available in Miami Beach, and all the luxuries money can buy – from marble floors to keystone decks. In order to execute such impressive changes to this historic property, expert construction companies will have been used, such as an experienced roofer to create the impressive rooftop deck. Other amenities include a tennis court, a volleyball court, a sports lawn, four outdoor hot tubs and a spa, one cold-plunge pool, three fountains and waterfalls, seven garage spaces and on-site parking for several dozen cars. Much of this needed the help of machinery, to transport loads and make sure everything was done swiftly but safely, so the team may have had to look into a forklift for hire, or more! It would have been difficult to manoeuvre around a big space otherwise.
The centerpiece of the property is an enormous pool lined with blue iridescent glass-mosaic tiles, with lush sea-grape trees at each corner that was designed to be as conducive as possible to entertaining. At each end are semicircular decks barely covered by water that allow people to lie down and soak in the sun. The main section is about 4 feet deep-the perfect height to string up a net for a volleyball game. The nearby pool house has a long onyx-and-granite bar, a state-of-the-art sound system and plenty of beds and banquettes for lounging. The walls were finished with sound-absorbing plaster.
Michael Capponi invited MIAMI BEACH COMMISSIONER DEEDE WEITHORN on stage to present Bill Dean with a HISTORIC RENOVATION PROCLAMATION. “You can’t build a historic property,” remarked Dean “You can only buy one.”
“You can’t build a historic property… You can only buy one.”
As he told the Wall Street Journal: “You can save a lot of money if you go in there with a bulldozer. But the reality is, you can’t build a historic property.” SARAH ARISON followed the award acceptance with a briefing of the foundation before vocalist GRACE WEBER serenaded Dean with a Marilyn Monroe-esque “Happy Birthday.”
Co-Host, MICHAEL CAPPONI, heads one of the top general construction companies in South Florida, as well as being a respected philanthropist who supports many worthwhile charities in the region. In 2010, MICHAEL CAPPONI partnered with STRATEGIC OPERATIONS PARTNER TODD C. PENNINGTON, former Executive Vice-President of BOVIS LEND LEASE; EXECUTIVE VICE-PRESIDENT OF CONSTRUCTION ROBERT WRIEDEN, former Vice-President of the WCI RESIDENTIAL DIVISION; and VICE-PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS GLEN RUSSO, former Project Executive of TURNBERRY ASSOCIATES to create CAPPONI CONSTRUCTION GROUP LLC, a Florida licensed general contractor (CGC045327). Together they have a combined total of over 90 years of industry experience and have built properties valued over $23 billion dollars in South Florida. CAPPONI CONSTRUCTION GROUP’s professionals average over 20 years in the industry and all have the hands-on experience necessary to successfully meet the challenges inherent in constructing multiple building types, including new construction and renovation of significant private residences, estates, high-end commercial projects, historic rehabilitation and construction of new hotels, condominiums and shopping centers. Since 2010, Capponi Construction Group, LLC, has completed multiple building types, including new construction, renovations and the historic rehabilitation of private residences, estates, condominiums, high-end commercial projects, shopping centers and hotels.
NATIONAL YOUNGARTS alumni violinists, cellists, ballerinas, classical guitarists, tap dancers and hip-hop dancers performed throughout the night, as well as beats by MIAMI HEAT’s DJ IRIE. The NATIONAL YOUNGARTS FOUNDATION (formerly known as the NATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR ADVANCEMENT IN THE ARTS) was established in 1981 by LIN AND TED ARISON to identify and support the next generation of artists, and to contribute to the cultural vitality of the nation by investing in the artistic development of talented young artists in the visual, literary, and performing arts. YoungArts provides emerging artists with life-changing experiences with renowned mentors, access to significant scholarships, national recognition, and other opportunities throughout their careers to help ensure that the nation’s most outstanding emerging artists are encouraged to pursue careers in the arts.
To date, YoungArts has honored more than 16,000 young artists with over $6 million in monetary awards; facilitated in excess of $100 million in college scholarship opportunities; and enabled its participants to work with master teachers who are among the most distinguished artists in the world, such AS MIKHAIL BARYSHNIKOV, JACQUES D’AMBOISE, PLÁCIDO DOMINGO, BILL T. JONES, QUINCY JONES and MARTIN SCORSESE. In addition, at the request of the COMMISSION ON PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLARS, which is appointed by the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, YoungArts serves as the exclusive nominating agency for the U.S. PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLARS IN THE ARTS, the country’s highest honor for artistically talented high school seniors.
Guests enjoyed cocktails and passed hors d’oeuvres by AARONS CATERING. The estate’s two-story cabana house was transformed into a special SET nightclub pop-up. SET owner ERIC MILON gave guests an inside look into the popular nightclub’s newly designed renovation which featured a glass catwalk, color-shifting onyx bar and VIP seating. Over on the grand lawn, PopUpEventsGroup unveiled an architectural glass dome, deemed the soap bubble, as a VIP lounge. Capponi Construction Group brought in CLIF LOFTIN, one of the creative driving forces behind Miami’s annual MAKE-A-WISH BALL AFTER PARTY, to produce the black-tie event at the historic property.
More than 3,400 guests attended the black-tie event, roaming the more than 18,100-square-foot property, including PRINCE KHALIFA, PRINCE SAUD, BOB ZANGRILLO, LISA HOCHSTEIN, JOEY GOLDMAN, KATRINA CAMPINS, ANTHONY SHRIVER, NORMA QUINTERO, MICHELE HEARY, DR. JEFF KAMLET, MARTINA BASABE, TAMARA GALINSKY, ALISON ZHUCK, EMA KOJA, DIANE & ALAN LIEBERMAN, OREN ALEXANDER, LAUREN FITZPATRICK, CLAUDINE SMURFIT, TOYKO DIIVA, AARON RESNICK, JAMIE TELCHIN, DAVID CHUNG, MICHAEL SAYLOR, MARCELA NOVELA and VANESSA GROUT.
TERRA VERITATIS PHOTO GALLERY
(Click on thumbnails to enlarge pictures)
Photo Credit : World Red Eye
GUESTS PHOTO GALLERY
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Photo Credit : Sabrina Boasman for L’Etage
For more information on Capponi Construction Group, LLC, please contact 305.695.4410 or visit www.capponiconstruction.com.
For more information on NATIONAL YOUNGARTS FOUNDATION, please contact 305.377.1140 or visit www.youngarts.org.