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Fontainebleau Hotel Miami Beach

(MIAMI BEACH, FL) -- In the scheme of things in South Florida leisure industry circles these days, an unpaid $65 million bill isn't that earth-shaking.

That's what 30 contractors, designers and installers  claim they are owed for nine months of work on the $500 million renovation of the 1,504-room Fontainebleau Miami Beach resort .

It's one of the biggest construction jobs ever attempted on the eight-mile wide municipality.

But to Aventura, FL luxury hotel developer Jeffrey Soffer, the 30 lawsuits filed by unpaid contractors are piling up in Miami-Dade County Civil Court and adding to his gray hairs.

Soffer is also trying to settle a four-month bankruptcy battle at his Fontainebleau Las Vegas in Nevada.
 

Jeffrey Soffer

Lawyers for Fontainebleau Miami Beach claim they are auditing contractors' bills and that is what is causing the payments delay. Contractors accuse the Fontainebleau of stalling in the face of legitimate debts.

One of the unpaid contractors is Fort Lauderdale Metal Works headed by Walter Jordan Jr.  His firm built the 7,000-bottle wine rack in the Fontainebleau's Gotham Steak restaurant.

Fontainebleau Miami Beach executives have previously stated they had found contractors overcharging for work completed and then reduced the payments.

The last two years brought a revenue windfall for the Miami Beach Fontainebleau, as buyers closed on condo-hotel units in its second condominium tower.
 
An analysis by Condo Vultures LLC, a Bal Harbour, FL brokerage that monitors the activities of distressed condos, shows 80 percent of the 286 units at Fontainebleau Miami Beach  have been sold, though prices have dropped from $960 a square foot to $405 a square  foot in a recent transaction.

Howard Karawan, Fontainebleau Resorts' chief restructuring officer, says  the Miami Beach hotel has stayed busy despite the economic decline.

"In July, not traditionally one of the strongest months of the year, our occupancy was in excess of 70 percent and our (room) rate over $200,'' Karawan told the Miami Herald.


Please see related News Postings:

Fontainebleau Las Vegas Sues 11 Major Banks For $3B After They Allegedly Reneged on $800M Loan (April 24, 2009)

Fontainebleau Las Vegas Asks Bankruptcy Judge for Quick Ruling on $3B Lawsuit (June 11, 2009)

Miami Condo Developer Gambling on Construction of New Multi-Million-Dollar Downtown Tower (August 28, 2009)

SPECIAL REPORT: Miami Luxury Condo Market Sales Rise as Prices Drop (August 28, 2009)

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