Setai wants Miami Beach to reverse Shore Club approval

Owners of the oceanfront Setai resort oppose Monroe and Witkoff project

Setai's Ariel Nakash, Monroe Capital’s Theodore Koenig and Witkoff’s Steve Witkoff with rendering of planned Shore Club project (Getty Images, Monroe Capital, Witkoff, Kobi Karp Architecture)
Setai's Ariel Nakash, Monroe Capital’s Theodore Koenig and Witkoff’s Steve Witkoff with rendering of planned Shore Club project (Getty Images, Monroe Capital, Witkoff, Kobi Karp Architecture)

Owners at the Setai are challenging the approval of the neighboring Shore Club project in Miami Beach.

The Setai Resort & Residences condo association is seeking a re-hearing of the city’s historic preservation board vote in favor of Monroe Capital and Witkoff’s plans for the Shore Club, a historic oceanfront resort just south of the Setai.

Setai entities tied to the Nakash family — creators of Jordache Jeans and owners of the former Versace Mansion — as well as others, including Dr. Stephen Soloway, filed a petition with the city to reconsider the May 10th approval. The board approved the certificate of appropriateness for the partial demolition and renovation of two buildings, the complete demolition of two buildings, and the construction of two additions at the Shore Club property at 1901 Collins Avenue. Attorney Kent Harrison Robbins, representing the Setai entities, spoke out against the approval at the same meeting.

The Miami Beach Historic Preservation Board will vote at its Sept. 13 meeting on allowing a new hearing.

In the Setai association’s petition to the city, it alleges that the board voted on the Shore Club’s last-minute change to reduce the width of the planned tower, “denying the public the opportunity to know the ultimate decision and participate in the public hearing process.” The petition, filed by attorney Andrew Dickman, asks that the historic preservation board reverse or modify its May 10th approval.

The petition states that the “staff report and all prior testimony and evidence is based upon the Shore Club application prior to the last-minute substantial ‘straw vote’ redesign.”

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Witkoff declined to comment.

Owners of the 40-story Setai, at 2001 Collins Avenue, one of the tallest buildings in that stretch of Collins Avenue, have opposed other nearby developments, including the height increase for the Bulgari-branded project on the former Seagull Hotel property.

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Witkoff and Monroe plan to renovate and redevelop the Shore Club into a luxury condo and hotel complex. The historic hotel, built in 1939 and redesigned by architect David Chipperfield in the early 2000s, has been closed since the pandemic began. Kobi Karp Architecture & Interior Design and Robert A.M. Stern Architects are designing the project.

HFZ Capital previously planned to redevelop the Shore Club, but lost the property through what one former owner, an entity tied to The Clark Estates, alleged was a “crooked and secretive land grab” orchestrated by Monroe Capital and Witkoff. Two years ago, Monroe acquired HFZ’s interests in the Shore Club entities that owned the property in 2020, and brought Witkoff on as a partner.