CORAL GABLES, Fla. – For years, Coral Gables homeowner Orlando Capote has resisted attempts to buy him out, even as a new mixed-use development took over the rest of the neighborhood.
But now, city officials say he has to come up with thousands of dollars — fast — or risk losing his home.
“This is our American dream that we bought after 20 years of working and saving,” Capote said.
A notice from Coral Gables code enforcement states he owes thousands over unpaid fines and the city intends to place a lien on his house if he doesn’t pay up.
He has until March 4 to take care of the pending code compliance issues, which includes a permit to build a carport canopy and issues with yard upkeep.
“This is just one more attempt in an effort to take the home away from me,” Capote said.
The Plaza Coral Gables is the name of the development that envelops Capote’s home on Coconut Grove Drive.
“He ends up being in the middle of the residential area that converts into commercial as part of the development,” developer Jose Antonio Perez Helguera, the managing director of Agave Holdings, LLC, said. “(It was approved by the) city, was approved by the county, was approved by the state of Florida.”
Capote said, “of the so-called ‘offers’ we got (for the property), they were all deficient.”
He said many of the code issues stem from his inability to properly access his property while work was going on.
“The government is supposed to approve the laws and rules to protect everyone equally,” he said. “Obviously, that was not done here.”