Florida Man Refuses To Sell Family House Now Swallowed By Massive Development

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A small single-family house stands in the middle of a huge construction project in Coral Gables, Florida. The $600 million commercial development is the largest in the city’s history. The homeowner, however, says his home carries priceless sentimental value and he won’t sell it — no matter the noise, rubble or price.

Speaking of price, the owner Orlando Capote has been offered a lot, many times. “The house is my soul. So what good is it to sell your soul for all the money in the world,” he told WFOR-TV in Miami.

His home in the middle of a construction zone and is now engulfed by the most mega commercial development in Coral Gables history. “This house is like a hard drive. As I look around and live in it and move through it, I relive a lot of memories. That I could not find in another house,” said Capote.

Capote tells CBS Miami that when his father came from Cuba, he worked double to buy this home for their family. That was back in 1989. He would spend the majority of his time outside with the mango trees.

In 2005, his dad passed and in 2020, he lost his mother, who countless times told him she did not want to sell their family treasure. “I do not want to roll the dice. I do not want to gamble. So, the memories are worth more,” said Capote.

For the past 6 years, Capote has refused more than 60 offers to sell to developers, real estate agents or flippers who made offers up to $900,000 for the two-bedroom, two-bathroom, 1,300-square-foot house.

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