I had very strange feeling as we were watching rising sun from the east side of the Atlantic Ocean and Sheraton Hotel coming down in cloud of dust from west of the beach on Bal Harbor.

As everybody on the boat tried to capture this moment on the video or digital cameras including me I was thinking about More than fifty years of history tumbling down at Beautiful Sunday morning when crews imploded the Sheraton Bal Harbour historic hotel in the 97-hundred block of Collins Avenue to make room for a St. Regis Hotel and Residences luxury resort.

Originally called the Americana Hotel which opened in 1956, the building was designed by Morris Lapidus, the same architect who built the Fontainebleu and Eden Rock hotels on Miami Beach. The beachside resort was a favorite hangout for Frank Sinatra, many other celebrities and former presidents. After President John F. Kennedy made his speech there, he could be safely shuttled into the hotel through its underground parking garage.

Related Group Development turned the implosion into an spectacular event. Media and VIPs traveled in luxury on the Biscayne Lady Yacht to watch the implosion of the Sheraton from the Atlantic Ocean. Since there were many other small boats rushing to the spot, there was a perimeter set all the way out to the ocean with police presence to prevent boaters from coming too close.
After the dust had cleared from Sunday’s implosion, Miami Dade’s internationally renowned Search and Rescue Team, which responds to disasters around the world, used the debris for training exercises. Members with specialized training in technical search, K-9 search and structural collapse emergencies were granted permission to use the remnants of the building to bury live victims in the debris. The team then trained using K-9s, state of the art search cameras and listening equipment to locate these simulated victims.

Related is planning to build the exclusive, mixed-use property will feature a new St. Regis Hotel, whole ownership St. Regis Residences, fractional ownership through the St. Regis Residence Club, and a 17,000 square foot Remède ® spa.

The three-tower project will have 230 luxury condos and a 153-room hotel. The project has sold about 35 percent of its units. The Sieger Suarez Architectural Partnership of Miami is designing the resort with interiors by Yabu Pushelberg of Toronto.

Construction is scheduled to begin in a couple of weeks, with the project’s completion set for the end of 2010. And it is going to be the new begging of this world class location with the new history and legend

To watch the video please click here<