A Tahiti Beach Island trophy home just rewrote the record books in Coral Gables, closing for $32 million and setting a new price high for the gated Cocoplum enclave. The two-story estate at 12 Tahiti Beach Island Road spans about 10,400 square feet on roughly 0.93 acres, with six bedrooms, multiple baths, a pool and a private dock. The sale marks a sharp jump from what the owners paid in 2008 and underscores how hungry the market still is for ultra-luxury waterfront property.
Sale and representation
Records show Lauren Sturges, the widow of tech executive Charles M. Fernandez, sold the property to a trust named for the address. The listing was held by Dora Puig of Luxe Living Realty, while the buyer was represented by Alex Pirez of Mocca Realty, according to The Real Deal.
Property details and history
County records and listing data show the home was built in 1994 and measures about 10,400 square feet on roughly 0.93 acres. The residence includes six bedrooms, seven full bathrooms and two half-bathrooms, plus a pool and private dock. Public property records indicate Sturges and Fernandez acquired the estate in 2008 for $9.2 million, per ATTOM.
Record for Tahiti Beach
The $32 million sale tops the neighborhood’s previous high, set when William McKinley Osborne III paid $28.9 million in 2021 for a 1.4-acre beachfront estate. That earlier deal, along with a string of other big-ticket trades, has helped push Cocoplum and nearby Gables Estates into the national spotlight, according to listing records and market trackers such as Realtor.com.
Market ripple in Coral Gables
The record-setting deal lands in the middle of a busy run of high-end activity in Coral Gables, as both developers and private buyers chase waterfront acreage and extra privacy. Broker and developer Alex Pirez, who represented the buyer here, has been especially active, including a reported purchase of a Michael Dorrell estate for about $35 million in March, according to deal reports aggregated by Traded. Cocoplum’s private beach, guard-gated entry and direct bay access keep it on the short list for buyers seeking discreet, waterfront living, per neighborhood profiles on MiamiLuxuryHomes.
Bottom line
Even with the record, the mansion did not quite hit its asking price. It closed below the $40 million tag it carried when it was on the market in March, per the March listing on Adams Cameron & Co. Realtors. The gap is a reminder that at the very top of the Coral Gables market, waterfront privacy commands a hefty premium, but list prices and final numbers can still end up a few million apart.
