Casino-and-resort billionaire Steve Wynn’s proposal to add a private beach cabana to his Palm Beach estate did not go swimmingly during the project’s initial review by the town’s powerful Architectural Commission.
The design board was unimpressed with the plain, boxy building planned for the beachfront parcel opposite the mansion Wynn shares with his wife, Andrea Hissom Wynn, at 1960 S. Ocean Blvd. The board voted unanimously to defer the project for a significant restudy.
The board also took a hard look at the cabana’s proposed location, about 375 feet north of the notoriously sharp turn in South Ocean Boulevard known as Sloan’s Curve. If built, it would be the first cabana drivers see as they head north on the coastal road from the curve
The 250-square foot structure would stand near the spot where a private flight of steps already leads down to a wood deck that provides access to the Wynns’ beach parcel. The same opening in the retainer wall would provide access to the cabana. The project would include a new deck and steps.
Other cabanas stand on the same stretch of beach. The nearest is about 800 feet north of the site where the Wynns have proposed to build theirs.
Architect Sophia Bacon of Smith Architectural Group presented the plans to the board at its Sept. 25 meeting. Her firm is headed by principal architect Jeffery Smith, who also is chairman of the Architectural Commission but was absent from the meeting.
Bacon told the board that the cabana building was designed with details that would complement the Wynn mansion, which was built in 2003 in a Mediterranean style. The cabana would have a barrel-tile roof and a painted stucco exterior, she said. The interior would include a sitting area and bathroom. Its railings would be fashioned of marine-grade cables.
The board was told the cabana structure would meet all the town’s requirements for preserving the “scenic vista” along the beach.
But commissioner Kenn Karakul criticized the project for its lack of landscaping and architectural detailing.
“I think it’s very unsuccessful. I think it looks like something that was just dropped in there. It has no character,” he said about the structure, which would rise about 8 feet and could easily be seen by passersby, especially drivers and their passengers approaching from Sloan’s Curve.
As designed, he said, the cabana would add “nothing” to the character of the beach area or the view of drivers who see it “popped up there.”
Karakul added: “I’m not in favor of it as an additional architectural piece along our oceanfront.”
Alternate Commissioner David Phoenix went so far to call the structure “an eyesore” and compared its boxy shape to an old-fashioned mobile home.
“This looks like a double-wide with French doors,” said Phoenix, who later added that it could be redesigned in a more playful fashion to to appear as an architectural “folly.”
Commissioner Elizabeth Connaughton said the project missed an opportunity to borrow more detailing for the cabana from the mansion across the street.
“There are a lot of architectural elements that you could pick up to make (the design) a lot more tasty,” she said.
Commissioner Betsy Shiverick, who ran the meeting in the absence of Smith and Vice-Chairman Richard Sammons, said that cabana should be positioned as close to the Wynns’ north property line as possible. That view was also echoed by Commissioner K.T. Catlin.
Shiverick and Catlin voted to defer the project for changes, along with Karakul, Connaughton, Phoenix, Commissioner Claudia Visconti and alternate commissioners Kathy Georgas and Sue Patterson.
Had it been approved, the project would have required the Town Council to grant two code variances related to how far the cabana would be set back from the property line, in part to ensure it would not interfere with existing rocky outcroppings that serve as a breakwater on the beach.
The council would also have to approve a “special exception” to build the cabana in the zoning district that governs the Estate Section neighborhood.
The Architectural Commission is generally tasked with approving new architectural projects in Palm Beach. It’s counterpart is the Landmarks Preservation Commission, which oversees town-designated historic properties.
Steve Wynn bought his ocean-to-lake estate through an ownership company for a recorded $43 million in 2019 and has since carried out remodeling projects there. He also won the Architecture Commission’s permission to install a sculpture of a horse on the front lawn as well as a padel court near the Intracoastal Waterway.
Wynn owns his 2.79-acre estate today through a trust in his name. He has it homesteaded as his primary residence in the Palm Beach County tax rolls. In all, the mansion has more than 34,000 square feet of living space, inside and out, property records show.
Wynn, a noted art collector with a gallery on Worth Avenue, also has bought, remodeled and sold several investment houses in Palm Beach. Among those projects was a lakefront house a Wynn-controlled company sold for a recorded $66 million at 1350 N. Lake Way in 2023. The buyer in that deal was an entity linked to coffee tycoon Robert Stiller and his wife, Christine.
Forbes estimates Wynn’s net worth at $3.9 billion. He is the former chairman and CEO of Wynn Resorts, which he cofounded.
Darrell Hofheinz is a USA TODAY Network of Florida journalist who writes about Palm Beach real estate in his weekly “Beyond the Hedges” column. He welcomes tips about real estate news on the island. Email dhofheinz@pbdailynews.com, call 561-820-3831 or tweet @PBDN_Hofheinz. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Casino mogul Steve Wynn’s plans for beach cabana fail to impress Palm Beach design board
Reporting by Darrell Hofheinz, Palm Beach Daily News / Palm Beach Daily News
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