Valls family wants to build a hotel near Versailles Restaurant

The owners of the popular Versailles Restaurant in Little Havana are looking to convert an old office condo building nearby into a 125-room hotel.

Tamiami Properties Inc., led by Felipe Valls Jr., his daughter, Nicole Valls, and his sister, Jeannette Valls-Edwards, just filed a building permit to allow for the construction of an 8-story, 148,000-square-foot hotel at 3663 Southwest Eighth Avenue. The project is estimated to cost about $26 million.

The property currently houses a 26,520-square-foot office condo building, where the family maintains an office on its third floor.

In addition to their Cuban cuisine restaurants, including La Carreta and Casa Juancho, the Valls family also owns a number of real estate assets. Earlier this year, a company led by Felipe Jr. sold two shopping centers in Northwest Miami-Dade for $16 million.

The site for the planned hotel is just one block west of Versailles, which for decades has been owned and operated by the Valls family. Through the years, the restaurant has become a gathering spot for exiled Cubans and tourists. Many political figures also have held photo-ops at Versailles, including Rick Scott and President Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign.

Nicole Valls was not immediately available to comment.