Celebrity Real Housewives of Miami couple finally got the approval to demolish the Star Island mansion they had bought months ago. The estate at 42 Star Island was once a grand edifice situated on the edge of Biscayne Bay and revealing elegant detail throughout. However, close to a century later the buyers of this home do not consider it suitable for their lifestyle.
Leonard and Lisa Hochstein, a renowned plastic surgeon and his reality TV star wife, bought their Star Island mansion with the plan to demolish it and build a larger home that would include a wine cellar and a five-car garage. Nonetheless, the process was hindered by a lengthy battle with the Miami Design Preservation League. According to the preservationists, this 88-year old mansion is designated as historic and cannot be torn down. Although Hochstein’s attorney argues that the approval for demolition they received is final, the Preservation League has pledged to keep fighting to preserve the home.
STAR ISLAND MANSION
The couple explains that they bought the foreclosed mansion with the intention of building their dream home. Had they know this would turn into such a public fiasco, they would have never made the deal.
The Hochsteins also submitted a structural report to the city board that deemed the Star Island mansion structurally unstable. The report outlined that the home is sinking, that it is 30 inches below the flood plain and that the supports propping the balconies up are so rusted they could collapse. The report was approved by the board and the process continued along until the preservationists submitted an application for the home’s historic designation, which is still pending, and are now questioning the accuracy of the structural report.
The Preservation League hopes to change the couple’s mind, but Hochstein’s attorney explains that denying the couple’s application would be unethical since the house was not historic when they bought it; the preservationists did not start their battle for historic designation until the the Hochsteins made plans to demolish it.