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Former CEO of Venezuela’s Banesco pays $8M for Coral Gables spec manse
Former hedge funder Chad Loweth built and sold the waterfront home
The former head of one of Venezuela’s largest banks paid $7.75 million for a waterfront spec mansion in Coral Gables, property records show.
Miguel Angel Marcano, who was formerly CEO and remains on Banesco’s board of directors, bought the house at 480 Solano Prado under MAM Group Real Estate LLC, according to public records. Marcano purchased the home from Chad Loweth, a former hedge funder turned spec home developer.
The seven-bedroom, 7,786-square-foot mansion hit the market in March 2016 for $9 million with Douglas Elliman’s Hilda Jacobson and Sabriane Brandao. It sits on a half-acre lot with 140 feet of water frontage, a pool and dock, and features a summer kitchen, outdoor shower, a wine cellar, wet bar and marble and wood floors, according to Elliman.
“We tested the market, did price reductions,” Jacobson said. “Last year was not a remarkable year for luxury.” After reducing the price to just under $8 million, the listing agents received multiple offers.
Venezuelans’ interest in Miami real estate remains strong amid political chaos and social unrest in their home country. Investors from Venezuela led foreign purchases of residential real estate in South Florida last year, according to the Miami Association of Realtors.
Jacobson declined to identify the buyer. Grehyni Narvaez of Avanti Way represented Marcano’s company, according to Redfin. Narvaez could not immediately be reached for comment.
Property records show Loweth purchased the land for $2.4 million in 2013. The developer is now working on two spec homes in Cutler Bay that he will be putting on the market soon, according to Jacobson.
The Solano Prado property traded hands for $995 per square foot. Less than a mile away, the home at 9151 Arvida Lane sold in 2015 for $12.6 million, or nearly $700 per square foot. Earlier this year, former Carnival Cruise Lines CEO Bob Dickinson and his ex-wife Jodi sold their waterfront Coral Gables home at 29 Tahiti Beach Island Road for $5 million, or $425 per square foot.