SoBe's Posh Versace Mansion Headed For Auction Block

MIAMI BEACH (CBSMiami) — The posh South Beach mansion once owned by Italian designer Gianni Versace is going on the auction block.

Earlier this month, it was reported current owner Peter Loftin filed for bankruptcy to avoid foreclosure. Loftin bought Casa Casuarina about a decade ago for $19 million. It was most recently listed for $125 million.

Fisher Auction Company will handle the sale of the 23,000 square-foot home, which is scheduled for Sept. 17th at the estate, 1116 Ocean Drive.

Registration will begin at 9 a.m.  Bidders must be pre-qualified and place a $3 million deposit.

Originally built in 1930, the 10-bedroom, 11-bathroom, gated home features a 54-foot long mosaic pool lined with 24-karat gold. It also includes numerous frescos, ornate statues, arched doorways and an open air courtyard.

Versace purchased the home in 1992 and immediately spent $33 million renovating  the property, adding another wing and making numerous upgrades.  The property was purchased by its current owner in 2000.

The home received national attention in 1997, when Versace was fatally shot on the front steps of the property on July 15th, 1997 by Andrew Cunanan, a male prostitute suspected in the murders of four other men. A little more than a week after Versace's murder, Cunanan killed himself on a shuttered houseboat about 40 blocks from the mansion as police closed in.

Tourists can still routinely be spotted taking photos in front of the house.

The property can be used for both residential or commercial purposes.

For the past several years, the property had operated as a 10-room boutique hotel.  The Villa By Barton G closed earlier this year.