Gansevoort Bringing A New Vibe to the Roney in Miami Beach
The Roney in Miami Beach has long been in a sort of limbo: not really a hotel; not really a condo; and certainly not really anything one would consider “cool” (with apologies to several friends who live there). But, while the Roney has certainly paid its dues by surviving bankruptcy and failed business plans, the venerable location is now getting a new lease on life and will soon make its debut on the South Beach hip scene thanks to names such as Jeffrey Chodorow, Philippe Chow, David Barton and Gansevoort.
First, a bit of history. The original Roney Plaza Hotel was built in 1925 by N.B.T. Roney and stood for forty-three years as a tropical resort where Hollywood celebs and visiting VIPs lounged under the ocean-front hotel’s cabanas that lined the pool and boardwalk. To say the Roney was a haute destination may well be the understatement of the century—after all, what other hotel could boost of having had Hollywood’s original Tarzan (Johnny Weismuller) work at their pool as a cabana boy?
During World War II, the hotel was used for housing and training Army officers, as were numerous other Miami Beach hotels. The original Roney Plaza hotel was demolished in 1968 and the current 17-story Roney structure was built soon thereafter containing the Roney Palace hotel and an additional 1,162 residential units.
The Roney is a huge project. The structure encompasses an entire (and very large) city block. To give you an idea of the sheer size of the project currently underway, upon completion it will contain…
One world-class hotel
Two condo developments with 800+ units
Two restaurants
Three pools
One Grand Ballroom
Two VIP Lounges
One Rooftop pool lounge
One parking garage with 1,186 spaces
And 93,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space.
The Gansevoort South Hotel
The 333-unit Gansevoort South hotel will occupy the first eight floors of the existing north tower, with a 259-unit residential condominium known as Paradiso located on floors 9 through 17.
Once completed, the Gansevoort South will emerge as a 4 or 5-star full service hotel with world-class amenities including restaurants, lounges and a beach club. Standard guestrooms will have floor plans averaging 700 square feet and guests will enjoy panoramic views of the Miami/Miami Beach skyline, Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.
The Restaurants
(Update 10/17: Maxim has been replaced by STK Restaurant operated by One Group which also operates restaurants such as STK in New York and One Sunset in West Hollywood.)
Maxim
Jeffrey Chodorow may well be the physical embodiment of the often quoted business mantra, “Do one thing, and do it really well.” As proprietor of such famed dining destinations as China Grill, Tuscan Steak, Social at the Sagamore and Blue Door at the Delano, Jeffrey is methodically cornering the market on fine dining in South Beach with each passing season.
Now, Chodorow plans to operate a gourmet steakhouse co-located at the Gansevoort South hotel at 24th Street and Collins Avenue (pushing the boundary of “South Beach” northward by a full city block). The steakhouse, tenatively named either “Maxim Steak” or “Maxim Prime,” is most notable for what it will NOT offer. For example, its dining atmosphere will not—repeat, NOT—be the usual “men’s university club” steakhouse setting with the traditional dark wood and Hunter Club portraits of “Champion” and “ol Blue” hanging on the walls. Rather, Chodorow envisions a decor that compliments Miami Beach’s flair for design with a combination of glass and metal treatments developed by top designers, and accented with high-tech audio-visual displays. Additionally, the restaurant will have a strategic mix of couch and booth seating for small plate dining along with conventional table seating, but NOT the traditionally structured white tablecloth dining experience. Seating capacity will be 399.
Philippe
At the opposite end of the development on 23rd and Collins, Philippe Chow will create his third renowned Asian eatery to be named “Philippe.” Chow was the executive chef at Mr. Chow NYC for 27 years and recently left to pursue his own brand of high end Chinese cuisine presentation.
In addition to superb food and drink, Philippe will offer a theatrical show in the dining room where noodles will be hand-pulled and formed by chefs. A glass kitchen and a 26 foot water drop will complement the tranquil dining experience.
The VIP Lounge
Of course, no development in Miami Beach would be complete without a VIP lounge, and the Roney’s cocktail lounge will be located ground level behind the Hotel lobby, and will be available to hotel guests, residents and visitors. Evening hours of operation will be 7pm to 5am, and planned occupancy is 360 people.
The Rooftop Pool Lounge
The Rooftop Pool and bar will be available exclusively to Hotel guests, residents of the Paradiso Condominiums, and visitors on a membership basis only between 8am and 6pm. The most contentious part of the development plan concerned night-time operation of the Rooftop Lounge which drew initial opposition from neighbors due to noise concerns. After some negotiations, the Rooftop Lounge has now been approved for a closing time of 3am and an occupancy of 425.
From 6pm to 3am the Rooftop Pool area will operate exclusively as a cocktail lounge offering dramatic panoramic views of the Miami skyline and Atlantic ocean. The Rooftop Pool will have a strict dress code and nightly DJs to set the vibe. Access to the Rooftop Lounge will be via two express elevators from a dedicated entrance positioned near Jeffrey Chodorow’s restaurant.
David Barton Gym
The ground floor area fronting Collins Avenue will contain 65,000 square feet of new retail space, the bulk of which will be occupied by a 42,000 square foot David Barton Gym & Spa located above street level. This will be David Barton’s flagship location, replacing his former facility at the Delano hotel.
The Ballroom
The Hotel ballroom located on the lobby level directly above the VIP Lounge and will occupy 6,588 square feet of floor area with an expected occupancy of 440 people.
The Retail Shops
The Roney will also have 93,000 square feet of ground floor retail space. With the exception of the existing pool deck area, the Roney Palace condo is not included in the current renovations.
After 10 years of fits and starts, the historic Roney on Collins Avenue now appears to be well on its way to joining other hip locations in the South Beach glam universe such as the Shore Club, Delano and Sagamore.
We’ll certainly keep our fingers crossed.
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