1674-15 Gerry Sanchez 1 I
----- SrRATECIES
n r r . a _ i ? - • is his mural—for putting the area on the ' '
r o-,r'' . #11 path to prosperity.
Sanchez has ample reason to believe j
he am make his grand dreams come true f
i in South Beach. Ile founded and still
owns Polonia Restoration,a New York-
based renovation company that restored
t ...: the U.S. Capitol and the Brooklyn
_ Bridge to their past glory.Last year that '
company had profits'of$2.5 million on,
revenues of$17 million.
.`\` In 1985 Sanchez migrated from New
York to South Florida to retire.He soon
i:1'..:. scrapped those plans. "When I first ,
I' drove down Ocean Drive, I saw the
,,,:-,c';>: i-a streets paved with gold,and I smelled
f, ,•O money• ,' he recalls.
But while the Cuban immigrant ex-
'I.,' - 'l •
peels to turn his$22 million investment 'r
� .J in area hotels into$50 million in a couple
�,. „� i of yews,he's facing problems as mighty i
f. �f^'' -yr
� as a wrecking ball—not the least of
s s r which is Ins decision to operate his 10
'jet rf, hotels himself. "fn draw the yuppie
- crowd that(the developers)are counting
' :'...'•
on,they are going to have to meet the •
I standards of a Marriott or Hyatt,"ob •
-
e '.+ -serves an editor of a travel magazine.
1r.� :::..4%,..,._ . "Right now the service leaves a lot to be i
,..).?,-.,,j...1.,,,`-- desired."
Herbert Hiller,author of Guide to the
S Small and Historic Lodgings of Florida, 1
.t concurs."The people who are running j
most of the Art Deco hotels are not from
- `-,y the hotel business,but real estate,"he
says."They seem to think that buying
hotel property qualities them for ntanag-
ing it.At first I could hardly believe the I
Says Sanchez,"The banks don't have vision.We are visionaries" inadequate service." t
Sanchez.46,says he will hire a pro- i
"'— pro-
fessional hotel management company
'` — DEVELOPER SANCHEZ HOPES TO MORE THAN DOUBLE '
..„.„ " — when he completes the renovations of
"IllilllllllUI1:111I1li1ll HIS $22 MILLION STAKE IN SOUTH MIAMI BEACH his hotels'350 rooms,of which 180 are
finished.Meanwhile,he's relying on the
expertise of managers he hired from
M' 1 S Miami Nice other small hotels,devoting 20°5 of his •
udllllIIA1..,.., fl l g time to checking on operations, and
rushing from property to properly in his
— Mercedes 560 set.—even though they
are only a few blocks apart."We're just
By Jeannie Ralston sticking to the basics,"he says."You're .
not supposed to stay in the room.You
T n the lobby of the Breakwater Hold 1'squares, and signs with slogrnns like should be out having fun."
1 on Ocean Drive in South Miami Save Art Deco.These are the pioneers Sanchez blames his problems on the
Beach's Art Deco district, a huge of South Miami Beach—a group passion- the local banks that are leery of making
•
mural takes up one wall across from ately committed to making this a Soho loans in the area."lie's overextended,"
what will be a swanky restaurant after South.In the center of the mural stands says Richard Hoberman, president of I
restoration is complete:The mural per- a white-haired man with his arms spread the Miami Design('reservation League,
trays about 20 business-suited people wide in front of a wrecking ball. The which won the area a listing on the Na-
holding tape measures, blueprints, man,Gerry Sanchez,takes credit—this tion
al l Register of Historic Places in
:II OCTOBER19113 VENTURE 29 i
I
South Shore e.es
Hospitalilill. -
•
and . ,,-=
Medical Center --== "
1
Eighteenth Annual Grand Ball 1
1
t
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