Cuban coffee mogul trades waterfront Tahiti Beach mansion for Ponce-Davis estate

Cuban coffee magnate Jose Enrique Souto sold his waterfront Tahiti Beach mansion for $16 million, and purchased a non-waterfront home in the Ponce-Davis neighborhood for $9.2 million.

Rose Harris

Souto had listed the mansion at 23 Tahiti Beach Island Road in Coral Gables for nearly $24 million in 2018, and just sold it for a 33 percent discount off the original asking price. Meanwhile, he acquired the 1.45-acre estate at 4965 Southwest 82nd Street in Miami, said Rose Harris and John Reaves of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices EWM Realty.

Souto’s family sold Rowland Coffee Roasters to J.M. Smucker in 2011 for $360 million. Rowland’s brands include the popular Café Bustelo and Café Pilón.

Harris and Reaves represented the seller of the Ponce-Davis home, which property records show is Michael S. Pierson. Harris said the seller is an executive from Chicago who is moving back to the Midwest to be closer to his family.

John Reaves

The 10,143-square-foot Ponce-Davis mansion has eight bedrooms, nine baths, a tennis court, staff quarters, and a gym. It was listed for nearly $10 million. Harris said celebrities toured the property, including baseball and basketball players. Retired Yankees player Alex Rodriguez lives nearby.

Isabel Castro of BHHS EWM represented Souto in both deals, which were first reported by the Miami Herald. Castro and Maria Bradley brokered both sides of the Tahiti Beach sale. The buyer is unknown.

The seven-bedroom, nearly 15,000-square-foot Tahiti Beach estate, with 145 feet of waterfront, last sold in 2011 for $5.15 million. It features a 2,500-bottle wine cellar, movie screening room with a bar, a gym, a poker room, pool and dock.

In September, baseball player and Miami native Manny Machado paid $11.3 million for 20 Tahiti Beach Island Road.

In October, Miami philanthropists and former hotel owners Patti and Allan Herbert paid $6 million for the Ponce-Davis mansion at 4845 Southwest 78th Street in Miami.