Just as people thought that the mansion battle of "Real Housewives of Miami" star, Lisa Hochstein and her plastic surgeon husband, Leonard Hochstein, to renovate their 42 Star Island Drive residence was over, a new turn of events has deepened the war wounds.
Leonard Hochstein reportedly filed a lawsuit on March 22 against the Miami Beach Review Board stating that the board had given illegal rights to the preservation group - Miami Design Preservation League (MDPL), to save the historic home. Hochstein also claimed that the whole hullaballoo was created to delay his building and renovation permits and that his constitutional rights were violated, reported Curbed.
The city responded to the filing stating that the lawsuit was "without merit" and would be strongly defended and finally "dismissed", reports The Miami Herald.
Anyhow, following Hochstein's recent lawsuit, the MDPL filed an appeal Tuesday, March 26. The league's appeal countered the lawsuit claiming that the city's special home demolition rules were being defied by the Hochstein couple. They now need to acquire new building permits before demolishing the structure, reports The Miami Herald.
The Hochsteins had first announced plans of renovating the mansion sometime in December 2012. Dr. Hochstein had purchased the property in a foreclosure sale. The couple had planned to replace the historic landmark with a modern two story building, which is slated to be designed by Kobi Karp.
Check out the renovation design plan of 42 Star Island Drive here.
However, MDPL had locked horns with the Hochstein couple claiming that they were tearing down one of the most important landmarks of Miami. The Miami Beach Design Review Board had called a meeting on Feb. 6, 2013, to discuss the building's preservation issue. The meeting was rather 'uneventful' and decision on the house's fate was postponed until March.
The Review Board approved on March 5 Hochsteins' plans of building a 14,000 square feet residence to replace the 87-year-old mansion, deeming the standing structure unsafe.
Now with the preservation league's appeal, the approved plans will be reconsidered by a special master, an attorney for the league told The Miami Herald.
