The debt holder, VM South Beach LLC, has put in a stalking-horse bid of $25 million itself, setting a minimum for other bidders. The sale will include the property fully furnished.
The current owner, Peter Loftin, put Casa Casuarina LLC, the company that owns the property, in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings on July 1 in a bid to stave off creditors' efforts to appoint a receiver. The parties soon afterward agreed to the auction.
VM South Beach LLC, which acquired the mortgage on the property in December 2011 from a German bank, WestLB, has reason to want the property: It is affiliated with the Nakash family of New York, which controls Jordache Enterprises and has an interest in the Victor Hotel next door to Casa Casuarina.
Straub couldn't be reached for comment. A spokeswoman for Straub's law firm said in a statement that Straub is "no stranger to bankruptcy auctions, having successfully acquired many assets and projects in bankruptcy auctions across the country, including the $400 million Tesoro Club & Resort based in St. Lucie.''
In 2004, Straub made a surprise winning bid for the Miami Arena; he sold the site in 2012.
Italian designer Gianni Versace was shot to death on the steps of the estate in 1997. Versace bought the property in 1992 when it was a rundown apartment complex. According to Coldwell Banker, which has been marketing the estate in cooperation with Fisher Auction Company, he invested more than $33 million in expanding and upgrading the place.
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Secret offshore documents tied to accused sex trafficker Jeffrey E. Epstein underscore the challenge his accusers and the U.S. legal system might face when seeking restitution.