Zom Giving Tiny Victor Hotel Next to Ex-Versace Mansion $48M Facelift

But Orlando-based Zom Inc. has not only found the land but the right hotel as well to convert into a multi-million-dollar property.

Zom is breaking ground this week on a $48 million renovation of the 65-year-old, 40-room Victor Hotel in the 1100 block of Ocean Drive.

When Zom is through with the facelift, the property will be a 91-room hotel with interior designing by Jacque Garcia, the Paris specialist who designed the Danube restaurant in New York City; Le Passage lounge in Chicago; and Hotel Costes in Paris. The original Victor, opened in 1937, was designed by art deco architect L. Murray Dixon.

The shuttered Victor will reopen in fall 2003 at projected average daily room rates of at least $500 per night, Miami area hotel consultants tell GlobeSt.com on condition of anonymity. Zom officials couldn't be reached at GlobeSt.com's publication deadline.

Zom has contracted with Nicholas J. Pritzker, chairman, Hyatt Development Corp., to have his Chicago-based Hyatt Hotels Corp. operate the Victor as one of Hyatt's 202 global-managed properties. Zom recently completed the 35-story Waverly residential tower in South Beach.

An affiliate of ING Bank of The Netherlands is funding the renovation. Milton Construction Co. is the general contractor. The Miami office of Atlanta-based Perkins & Will is the project architect.

The Victor will be next door to one of Miami area's newest inns, the $50 million, 15-suite Casa Casuarina, former mansion of Gianni Versace, the fashion designer murdered in 1997.

Raleigh, NC telecommunications billionaire Peter Loftin purchased the property at 1116 Ocean Drive in September 2000 for $19 million and lived in it periodically until finally getting approval from the city of Miami Beach last year to convert it into a boutique hotel.

Nightly room rates average $2,000 to $6,000. That's still not the most expensive hotel accommodation in Miami-Miami Beach, reports South Beach Magazine. The three-story rooftop suite at the Shore Club goes for $15,000 per night, the publication says.