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Thread: Sticking to his guns

  1. #1
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    Default Sticking to his guns

    Florida man refuses to sell home as it’s engulfed by $600M development

    By Kerry J. ByrneJune 26, 2021 | 10:50am | Updated

    A feisty Florida man is refusing to sell his cherished family home even as it’s swallowed by a massive $600 million commercial development — drawing comparisons to the Pixar flick “Up” in which a balloon salesman clings stubbornly to his house as skyscrapers spring up around it.

    Orlando Capote told CBS4 News in Miami that his father bought the humble single-family home in 1989, after escaping Cuba and working double jobs to achieve his American dream.

    “The house is my soul,” said Capote. “So what good is it to sell your soul for all the money in the world?”

    The surrounding construction zone “is the most mega commercial development in Coral Gables history,” according to the local report.

    The Plaza Coral Gables, developed by Agave Ponce LLC, features shops, restaurants, residences, office space and even a 242-room luxury hotel.



    The development “will have a positive impact on the quality of life and safety of the community through the creation of new spaces for dining, recreation and the promotion of artistic, cultural and outdoor activities,” according to The Plaza Coral Gables website.

    Capote has refused offers of up to $900,000 for the two-bedroom, two-bathroom 1,300 square-feet home – as many as 60 offers over the past six years.

    Capote’s father died in 2005. He then lost his mother last year, who asked before she died that the son not sell the “family treasure.”


    The home of Orlando Capote and his mother Lucia Capote is surrounded by the construction of the Plaza at Coral Gables.
    The home of Orlando Capote and his mother Lucia Capote is surrounded by the construction of the Plaza at Coral Gables.
    Miami Herald via AP

    “This was my father’s dream house. It took 20 years for him to find it,” Capote told the Miami Herald. “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.”

    The fearless Floridian not only refuses to dishonor his mother’s wishes, he’s fighting back against the developers and city hall.

    He says the city has broken numerous codes while trashing his property. Capote can be seen on video showing people around his property wearing a heavy-duty contractor’s mask to protect his lungs from dusty debris, while cranes and trucks blare noise from the other side of a towering green construction fence.

    Everybody else on the street sold their houses, which were torn down.

    “You can see some of the trash that has already fallen on the side,” said Capote.
    “Which would not happen if the building was actually 35 feet high or at least 50 feet away.”

    Coral Gables officials claim the development has broken no laws or fire codes.

    “The issues raised have been extensively reviewed and investigated,” they told the Miami Herald.

    https://nypost.com/2021/06/26/florid...m-development/

  2. #2
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    Good for him

  3. #3
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    There was a little old black lady who every developer in Columbia tried to beg, buy, and bully out of her home in the 5points shopping center. She stuck to her guns too...

  4. #4
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    He will probably end up dead or in prison.
    When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song and die like a hero going home. -Tecumseh-

    Quote Originally Posted by Griffin View Post
    You're also one of select few clemings with sense.

  5. #5
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    That kind of money could move that home to a much more suitable location.

  6. #6
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    There is stubborn, then there is stupid. He's not doing anything but making his own life miserable by not selling. And a parent should never force their children to promise not to sell anything. That's only selfish and can put them in a lose/lose situation.

  7. #7
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    Reminds me of the last dude on the Land Between the Lakes who refused to leave after the government stole 170k acres of land and flooded out entire towns. They finally gave up and he stayed there until he died.

    That being said, he didn't have that going on around him either. This cat was way back in the woods a looooong way.
    Last edited by Glenn; 06-28-2021 at 07:57 AM.

  8. #8
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    thirsty beaver in charlotte wouldn't budge years ago when we built around him.....he gained 300+ potential customers

    Last edited by cleancutredneck; 06-28-2021 at 08:25 AM.

  9. #9
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    Sounds like Kenny's house on Southpark.

  10. #10
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    Damn. I can't believe The People's Republic of Charlotte didn't eminent domain The Beaver, yet there is the picture...

  11. #11
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    If it was public housing they would.

  12. #12
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    Assuming he can hook up to sewer, he will make a mint when he sells (or his children sell). That is a good reason to hold on.

  13. #13
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    Yep

  14. #14
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    Good for him, but I too would be holding out for the long game. Especially when I started keeping some pigs on the back 40.
    "Rivers and the inhabitants of the watery elements are for wise men to contemplate and for fools to pass by without consideration" -Izaak Walton

  15. #15
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    I would plant kudzu.

  16. #16
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    that back corner desperately needs an above ground..

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tater View Post
    I would plant kudzu.
    Good chance I might be there for a while, and I'd like to not live under a kudzu tangle for an indeterminate period of time.
    "Rivers and the inhabitants of the watery elements are for wise men to contemplate and for fools to pass by without consideration" -Izaak Walton

  18. #18
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    The goats and pigs will keep it off the house….

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mars Bluff View Post
    That kind of money could move that home to a much more suitable location.
    900k…coral gables? F’that lowball BS! Let
    “I can’t wait ‘till I’m grown” is the stupidest @!#* I ever said!

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