NEW YORK, Aug 10, 2001/ FW/ --- The Miami Beach Historic Preservation Board has voted unanimously to allow "the mansion where Versace lived" to be converted into a hotel by the current owner, Peter Loftin, who purchased the 20,000-square-foot property -- adorned with frescoes, stained-glass windows, statues, mosaics and a Venetian fountain-filled courtyard -- for $19 million last September.

Loftin has hired Chris Blackwell's Island Outpost management company to make his hotel vision a reality. The company said in a statement, "Island Outpost does have a letter of intent with the owners of Casa Casuarina, however, at this time, the discussions are too preliminary for any formal announcement."

But, as reported last week by FWD, real estate sources have speculated that Blackwell -- who already owns and operates five hotels in South Beach -- will keep Versace's original design scheme, restoring and duplicating his original furniture, accessories and artwork for a museum-like ambiance.

Originally, Loftin said he would use the mansion as a part-time home. But tourists, who would regularly pose for pictures on the property, may have inspired the North Carolina-based BTI Telecom CEO to change his mind and invite the public inside.

Entry isn't going to be cheap though.

Expected to open by mid-December, the upscale hotel -- already aiming to be a "six-star," exceeding the industry's highest standard of five -- will feature 15 suites and a world-class restaurant. Room prices will range from $2,000-$6,000 a night, reported the Miami Herald.

The house, located in the trendy Art Deco district on Ocean Drive, was built in 1930 for Standard Oil treasurer Alden Freeman. It was modeled after the Alcazar de Colon in Santo Domingo, a Mediterranean-style villa built in 1510 by Christopher Columbus for his son, Diego.

When Versace purchased the building - then the Amsterdam Place apartments - for $2.9 million in 1992, he added a two-story, 6,100-foot addition by purchasing the hotel next door and made it his home and the site of many celebrity parties for friends like Madonna and Elton John.

Versace was shot twice in the head by Andrew Cunanan on July 15, 1997, as he was walking into his palazzo. Cunanan, who was also wanted in four other murders, killed himself nine days later after a massive manhunt.