A waterfront Coral Gables estate that previously housed the University of Miami presidents, sold for $38 million as a teardown.
Property records show Regina Valdes Montalva sold the mansion at 8565 Old Cutler Road in Gables Estates to a Delaware company with the same name as the address.
Montalva is the daughter of Spanish artist and sculptor Manolo Valdés, who created seven immense metal sculptures — some weighing 20 tons — that were displayed in New York Botanical Garden from September 2012 to May 2013, according to published reports. The sculptures were on the Coral Gables property when it was listed, but the buyer had to pay for them separately. The listing agent, Lourdes Alatriste with Douglas Elliman, said the buyer declined to purchase the sculptures.
Montalva bought the mansion from the University of Miami for $9 million in 2012, records show. It was donated to UM in 1974, and it housed university presidents until Montalva bought it, including former U.S. Rep. Donna Shalala, according to published reports.
The 4.6-acre property sits on the second largest parcel in Gables Estates and includes 302 feet of water frontage, according to records. The main house spans 8,076 square feet, and the guest house spans 1,062-square-feet, with a total of seven full bathrooms and three half-bathrooms, records show. Both structures were built in 1964.
The mansion was listed in December for $38 million as a “development opportunity.” Jill Hertzberg with Coldwell Banker Realty represented the buyer, according to Redfin. Hertzberg declined to comment.
In September, prominent Miami attorney John Ruiz sold a waterfront Gables Estates mansion for $13.8 million to a trust controlled by relatives of Perfumania co-founder Rene Garcia. Several weeks earlier, Ruiz paid $25 million for another waterfront mansion in Gables Estates.
In June, two Miami real estate players bought and sold waterfront Coral Gables properties. Developer Armando Codina and his wife, Margarita, sold their Gables Estates home for $9 million, and MasTec CEO Jose Mas paid $9 million for a lot in nearby Cocoplum.