Emmy-nominated film producer to replace historic house with 17K sq ft modern abode
Has a Miami Beach residence become a nightmare? Horror film producer Lawrence Kuppin wants to replace his Mediterranean-inspired home with something more modern.
Kuppin and wife Minoush Kuppin submitted plans to the Miami Beach Design Review Board to knock down their waterfront house at 92 La Gorce Circle and build a Kobi Karp-designed residence. The board will review the plans next month.
Kuppin led New World Pictures in the 1980s after he bought the film and TV production company alongside Harry Sloan and Larry Thompson. The company would later be acquired by 20th Century Fox in the late 1990s.
Kuppin is credited as an actor in “Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth” in 1992 and as the producer of the upcoming “Hellraiser” TV series, according to IMDB.com, an online database. Hellraiser is a long-running and well-known horror genre franchise. He also was executive producer of “Evita Peron,” a TV movie, in 1981, according to IMDB. It starred Rita Moreno and Kuppin was nominated for an Emmy in the outstanding drama special category.
The new two-story, 16,998-square-foot Kuppin residence would have seven bedrooms and bathrooms, two home offices, staff quarters, a wine cellar, game room, gym and spa. Outside, the backyard would have a pool, fire pit, cabana and outdoor dining area.
It would replace a two-story single-family house designed by well-known architect at the time Carlos Schoeppl and built in 1939, according to plans submitted to the board. The 9,719-square-foot house has six bedrooms, eight 1/2 bathrooms, a pool, Jacuzzi and outdoor kitchen.
The Kuppins bought the house seven years ago for $14.5 million from New York investor Scott Bessent. The Kuppins did not respond to multiple requests for comment and Karp declined to comment.
The original house is historically significant, Miami Design Preservation League Executive Director Daniel Ciraldo said by email, and the league laments the loss of the single-family residence.
