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1674-12 Gerry Sanchez :- • ..._... _ _5., • i..-..,. IIE::,.. .. ... .. L . ogrA t • STi 1 .'.. ..JOIJR\ I © 1987 Dow Jones & Company) Inc. 411 Rights Re ert rd. EAsi-kax E • amorr MONDAY, SEPTEMBER. 14, 1987 • UU , i DA _ k. E Restorer Breathes'NewLife`In • to Art Deco ., By MARTHA BRA1'fNIGAN 4. Staff Reporter of THE WALI-S'rimJou &i. - ``� 'NAME: erardo Sanchez -MIAMI BEACH, Fla.—A mural filling — greets visitors r • - i' ••, an entire wall of the lobbyfi .6 AGE:'45• •• • •- .to Gerardo Sanchez's Breakwater Hotel.It if11J` r 'r. " - depicts none other than Mr. Sanchez him mil. ' lr' PUSiT10l'k Owner,Polonia Restoration Co. ' self,his arms raised savior-like to stop d i;' wrecking ball from demolishing a building. • CAREER PATH: A bank auditor and law clerk " Rallying behind him is a crowd of preset- '•;'::, • �;: . before becoming a developer in New York. ., • F vationists and local officials. • • - i; ':,,.? ;", • Became a general contractor,then spec alined irc For all its pretense,the mural makes a .. \:,r.;" " to exterior restoration of historic structures. good point about Mr.Sanchez.The restorer >•'. `4,' ' '-,:'' and developer is the central figure in the .`:. — :r_:p' CHALLENGE: To lead the restoration of Miami revitalization of this city's Art Deco as- '>`r'_ ` "` Beach's Art Deco district. trict. _ i ` Other developers preceded Mr. San- „__ • chez, a dapper 45-year-old Cuban emigre, of art deco, a style familiar to many as about$120 million of work has been done . to this 120-block collection of tropical-hued the visual motif of "Miami Vice," the .or is planned in the area, which is begin- I .•hotels and apartment buildings redolent of guns-and-drugs television show set in the ning to sprout restaurants and nightclubs. '' the.art deco decorative style of the 1930s, nearby south Florida city. Recently, a group of investors, including i. with its characteristic rounded corners, By the time Mr. Sanchez arrived, sev- Rolling Stones guitarist Ron Wood,bought porthole windows and glass blocks. . eral developers had stubbed their toes on two old hotels on South Beach.The group But Mr.Sanchez is emerging as the res- South Beach.Perhaps because of his inter- plans to convert them into a nightclub and i toration movement's leader for succeeding est in authentic restoration and his gutsy entertainment complex. '. in restoring part of the district—and mak- determination—as well as.a knack for good As in the old days,much of the money -. . ing a profit at it.The resurgence seems to timing—Mr. Sanchez has fared better. . flowing into the area comes from New . t', be gaining momentum as other investors 'New Wave of Developers' York. Broadway producer Michael Har: move to follow his example. • ' vey, for example, recently bought a corn- "This is the.next Soho, the next Bour "Sanchez was the first of the new wave , nlercial block in the district, which he is bon Street,"Mr.Sanchez proclaims in his of developers on Ocean Drive," says Nei- ', restoring in art deco style. Rolls Royce Silver Spur as he drives along sen Kasdin,chairman of the,Mlami Beach Yet it's unlikely other investors will fel- Ocean Drive his Waldorf Towers ho Development Corp.' a private nonprofit low Mr.Sanchez into another project that `>. tel. He gestures across the street at the outfit that helped spearhead the revival ef- be hopes eventually will grace the en• i' beach, "Only this will be better, because fort. "He invested in the street at a time trance to Miami's harbor,south of the Art Z., we've got the ocean." • when its future .was .very much 1n Deco district.His dream:a colossal statue • doubt-" of Christopher Columbus,built exactly one Accustomed to Big Jobs 'Barbara Capitman,president of the Art foot taller than the Statue of Liberty. Mr. Sanchez is accustomed to big jobs. .Deco Societies of America, is even more "He's my hero,"Mr.Sanchez explains c_ His restoration company,New York-based effusive."Sanchez is wonderful,"she says. "Christopher Columbus started the bigger Polonia Restoration Co.,had a hand hi re- "Preservationists use the term'respectful real estate development in the world." juvenating,among other things,the Statue •preservation.' I.think that's him." -- I of Liberty, the U.S.Capitol, the Brooklyn Mr.Sanchez's ego is large enough to ac• Bridge. and the New York Stock Ex- cept such praise and to add some of his s; change.But bringing Miami Beach'slong- own.. "I'm a pioneer,".he declares in a seedy Art Deco district back to life is the • thick Spanish accent as he drives around biggest job Mr. Sanchez ever has faced. Miami Beach- • . V' • „A glittering vacation spot in the 1930s . He isn't without critics, though. Some V, and.;11940s, the southern end'of.Miathi criticize him as a"rollover king"who flips i•. Beach fell on hard times'In recent years, •properties-buying' and' quickly selling 1 ; becoming morepoor refugees .them at a profit—instead of making along-i sr. g popularwith •than with cold northerners.':,. .,.-•.;',,,i,,,...;::.. ...-;z,tecommitment to operating them him ' 1,;• )Vith the growth or drugs and crline.ln "',self. Two years •ago, •for example, he Tial- •1980s,retirees who had made the ::bought the Clevelander Hotel for$1.2 mil- ! " Their home began moving elsewhere. lion, did minor work,and resold it a few I dditlon, as is the case in many areas months later for $1.65 million. - Thndergoing gentrification;some.residents :- :"I,didn't want to sell the.Clevelander," - themselves eased out by landlords. he responds,'saying he did so "to show -eager to redevelop properties. , other developers and tankers that this Mr.Salichez became intrigued with the .area was a solid Investment."He says he .eit a in 1465, after'a Polonla salesman keeps most of the properties he buys,and p'see*ing to_drum up restoration business, 'sells only reluctantly to raise funds for nes- « tte'ded a,'developers' conference in the' •,toratlo•n work. `, e%lfiat tterested Mr. Sanchez at first .'Attracted Other Developers' • v the`price. "Oceanfront property for In any event, his example has enticed ;.:..:(S22) a square foot!" he says. • -. others. "He brought life to an area that *;:.,r j-te so c became an unabashed booster was practically dead,"says Abe Resnick, of art.d , a style familiar to many as a developer and Miami Beach city corn- .:the visual =.motif of "Miami-Vice," the missioner. "His presence attracted other guns-and-dn tgs television show. developers." '• -' He soon became an unabashed booster Indeed,Miami Beach Development says * * s