Legendary gangster’s island home slated for demolition
The mansion, on an island off Miami Beach, befitted the Prohibitionera crime leader: pearl white walls, a cabana for pool parties and a guesthouse for armed guards on the payroll to keep a look out for their boss, Al Capone.
In 1928, 29-year-old Capone paid $40,000 for the house, which served, for a time, as a sunny refuge from the bitter Chicago winters. The gangster was convicted of tax evasion three years later and served 6 ½ years in federal prison.
After being released from Alcatraz in ill health because of paresis, a partial paralysis resulting from syphilis, he lived in the island house until his death in 1947. The onetime feared boss of the Chicago mob died of cardiac arrest in a guest room.
Now, the home in the exclusive neighborhood on Palm Island, in Biscayne Bay just west of Miami Beach, is being ticketed for the wrecking ball.
That possibility is pitting preservationists against two real estate developers who purchased the house and say the house has structural problems and, because of Capone’s violent legacy, is not worthy of saving.
The potential demolition of the house comes weeks after Capone’s granddaughters announced an auction of his belongings to be held in October, generating buzz among collectors and underscoring the enduring fascination with the gangster more than 70 years after his death.
Capone’s wife, Mae, sold the house in 1952, and several people have owned the property since then, according to Elle Decor, a home magazine.
“It’s not something to celebrate, in my eyes,” said Todd Glaser, a real estate developer who, along with Nelson Gonzalez, an investor, purchased the home for $10.75 million.
He likened its preservation value to that of Confederate statues, which many people have denounced as divisive symbols of racism.
“It’s not worthy of being saved because it’s lived its life,” Glaser said. “The house is a hundred years old.”
People who see historical and cultural value in the house, like Daniel Ciraldo, disagree.
“He wasn’t a saint by any means,” said Ciraldo, executive director of the Miami Design Preservation League, a nonprofit organization devoted to preserving significant structures around the city. “But, at the same time, we think his home is a part of the history of our city: the good, the bad and the ugly. And we don’t think it should be torn down and replaced with a McMansion.”
The house could be sold in its current state for $16.9 million, Glaser said. Otherwise, he and his business partner will ask about $45 million once they build a modern two-story home with eight bedrooms and bathrooms, a Jacuzzi, a sauna and a spa.