Gables Estates mansion sells for $49M, marking second biggest home sale ever in Miami-Dade

Trial attorney John Ruiz purchased the property

620 Arvida Parkway, Benjamin Leon Jr. and John H. Ruiz
620 Arvida Parkway, Benjamin Leon Jr. and John H. Ruiz

Leon Medical Centers founder Benjamin Leon Jr. sold a waterfront mansion in Gables Estates for $49 million, The Real Deal has learned.

The sale marks the second most expensive single-family home sale ever in Miami-Dade County, close behind the $49.9 million sale of 3 Indian Creek Island Road, which closed in early 2019.

620 Arvida Parkway

620 Arvida Parkway

The buyer of 620 Arvida Parkway is John H. Ruiz, a prominent trial attorney, property records show.

The estate, which resembles a tropical resort, was built in 2017 and was listed for $59.5 million. The $49 million closing price marks an 18 percent discount off the asking price.

620 Arvida Parkway

620 Arvida Parkway

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The 22,000-square-foot property, with nearly 18,000 square feet of interior space, features nine bedrooms, 14 bathrooms, and two half-bathrooms, a guest house, eight-car garage, wine cellar, three swimming pools, and climate-controlled outdoor pavilion with a full kitchen and nine televisions, according to the listing. Architect Cesar Molina designed the mansion.

A deed transfer of ownership recorded last week reveals the 2.2-acre property sold to Ruiz.

620 Arvida Parkway

Mocca Realty, led by Alex Pirez, brokered both sides of the deal. It closed on April 9, according to the brokerage. Yvette Rivero was the listing agent and Diana Gutierrez brought the buyer. Mocca declined to comment on the buyer’s identity.

The sale is the largest residential deal to close in South Florida – and in the gated community of Gables Estates – during the coronavirus pandemic. Pharrell Williams recently paid $30 million for the waterfront home at 700 Casuarina Concourse in Coral Gables. Mocca Realty represented the singer-songwriter and producer in that deal.

Leon, a Cuban-American businessman, sold his father’s company Clínica Asociación Cubana (CAC) to UnitedHealthCare for $500 million in the early 1990s. The founder and chairman of Leon Medical Centers has bought and sold properties in Gables Estates over the years. In 2016, he subdivided the property at 20 Casuarina Concourse and sold it for $6.55 million and $7.3 million.