1500 Ocean Drive: Mavericks, Magnates and…Disgraced Russian Lawmakers?

What do Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, oil magnate Tim Headington, and ex-Russian Parliamentarian Vladimir Pekhtin have in common? If you guessed ownership of a residence at 1500 Ocean Drive in Miami, you win a cookie. Well known as the Michael Graves Building, after its acclaimed architect, the condominium complex has been drawn into the international spotlight as it was recently unearthed that a founding member of Russia’s ruling party was forced to resign after it was uncovered that he didn’t report the property as an asset in his parliamentary declarations. The resignation was embarrassing to the Kremlin as critics of the sitting Russian government often accuse officials of hiding their wealth through offshore holdings.

While the international press may have introduced a bit of negative press for the property, the complex is widely acknowledged as one of Michael Graves’ finest works. Completed in the mid-1990s, Graves was at the center of the building’s ad campaign and reached such extreme recognition that he went on to launch an exclusive housewares collection at Target. The exposure brought on by the ad campaign and his lucrative collaboration with Target firmly established him as one of the most recognizable architects in the world.

Graves’ love of Gesamtkunstwerk (“artistic synthesis,” in German) design, surely played a role in attracting the attention of Pekhtin, whose condo at 1500 Ocean Drive is one of three he owns in Miami and cost the former ethics committee chairman a cool $1.3 million. The condo is part of a larger collection of secret properties purchased by Pekhtin both in Russia and abroad. Though he insists he did not violate the law, Pekhtin succumbed to political pressure and stepped down from his post in February.

Vladimir Pekhtin	1500 Ocean Drive	Mark Cuban