Life in the Estates A NEWSLETTER EXCLUSIVELY FOR THE RESIDENTS OF GABLES ESTATES
MEET GABLES ESTATES NEIGHBOR
SANDRA FIORENZA Photography By: Anita Andrade Hair & Makeup By: GLAMSQUAD Styling By: GOMEZ-GRACIA
June 2017
meet gables estates neighbors Written By: Carina Zatarain Photography By: Anita Andrade Hair & Makeup By: GLAMSQUAD Styling By: GOMEZ-GRACIA
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Fiorenza FA M I LY
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Throughout the years, Gables Estates has truly become a vibrant global community that embodies South Florida’s international trend setting status. The Fiorenza family is an ideal example of this. Originally from Germany, Sandra Fiorenza has found her place along South Florida’s golden coast as a mother, wife, and successful real estate agent. Sandra lives on Arvida Parkway with her three daughters and husband, Randy Fiorenza, who owns an aviation company and is on the Architectural Review Board for Gables Estates. Alternating her time between Miami Beach and the surrounding islands when she first came to Miami, Sandra says that their decision to move into Gables Estates was for their children. “It was time for us to have a family home,” Sandra relates, “And we definitely wanted to be on the water.” Their house was done by Ramon Pacheco, who has notably designed many houses in Gables Estates and other exclusive communities in South Florida. “I think he’s such a fascinating talent” Sandra relates, excited as she explains how the Fiorenza’s have recently bought a second vacant lot in Gables Estates which they are currently building on. Before Sandra came to the US, she was educated and professionally trained in Germany, Switzerland, and France, becoming fluent in English, German, Spanish, French, and Italian. When she was 16, she first visited the United States as a part of a high school exchange program in California. “When I went back to Germany, I had a bug that I wanted to come back to the US. I loved Cali, but after my exchange program in 1986, I visited Miami several times," Sandra recalls about her initial visits to America. In 1992, Sandra came back to South Florida to begin an internship with Sawgrass Mills Mall, the largest single story mall in the U.S. A friend of hers that lived in Miami showed her all over South Beach and she decided that Miami would eventually become her home. “This is the place where I want to live,” she remembers thinking. After her internship, she went back to Germany to attain an MBA from the University of Düsseldorf. She then
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worked for an advertising agency and built her own business that focused on fashion and TV in Germany and Europe. On January 1, 1998, the start of a new year, Sandra decided to make South Florida her permanent home. She laughs, “I always tell my friends, I didn’t come to the U.S., I came to Miami. It is its own world as a cultural melting pot.” Sandra was a South Florida pioneer at the time, foreseeing that Miami was a city poised for global significance. “It’s been amazing to see Miami’s transformation in the last 15 years. The art scene, the food scene, the internationality that we find today… Arriving from Germany, I pictured Miami evolving into the kind of cosmopolitan city it is today. I'm glad I have been here to experience it all! Upon arriving in Miami Beach in 1998, Sandra rented her first apartment at Turnberry Isle Miami. HowJune 2017 t Life In The Estates
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ever, she had many friends on Fisher Island, where she often attended dinner parties or played tennis. Within a short time after arriving in South Beach, a friend recommended Sandra to obtain her real-estate license at Gold Coast. Around the same time, Sandra also decided to purchase an apartment on Fisher Island. She worked 10 hour shifts as she started out in the first two years, representing listings from the Yacht Club at Portofino, the Murano buildings, and many of the top developments in the South of Fifth neighborhood on South Beach.
moved from Fisher Island to Coral Gables and the surrounding areas, in order to be closer to top preparatory schools. And when their daughters got accepted into Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart, they decided to look for a home down south. “It was a big change for me, I have to say, because I was so used to my community life, but I wanted to give my children a more diverse environment. I had met many successful, self-confident women who attended Carrollton and I knew it was the place for my daughters,” Sandra acknowledges.
A few months later, in November of 1998, Sandra attended a Fisher Island beach party that would change her life forever. Her future husband, Randy Fiorenza, was one of the neighbors in attendance and although he was just visiting from Connecticut, Fisher Island would soon be his permanent home. Shortly after, the couple began dating, “It was perfect timing, because he was relocating to Miami to oversee one of his businesses,” recalls Sandra. Sandra and Randy dated for two years, before tying the knot in 2000. “Living on Fisher Island for those years was great. We had a very close knit community there and Randy and I were very involved with the Fisher Island community and Fisher Island Club.” describes Sandra.
Finally, in 2009 it was time for the Fiorenza’s to make a move to Coral Gables, and Gables Estates was without a doubt their first option. “My husband and I were definitely looking for a home on the water, but we also wanted to be inside of a gated community,” says Sandra. The family began building their home on a vacant lot on Arvida Parkway. Her husband Randy went almost every morning to supervise the construction. “My husband has a passion for construction, as he is essentially an aeronautical engineer,” Sandra explains. The couple had already redone several homes together on Fisher Island, with Sandra contributing her interior design talents. Randy also joined the Architectural Board on the Gables Estates Club which has greatly helped the family get to know neighbors in the community. Sandra appreciates how the Gables Estates Club is helping the neighbors get together and creating a vibrant sense of community, “I love how Gables Estates is incorporating several events per year, including an annual Halloween party and the annual Carnival. It really helps us get to know our amazing neighbors. There’s so many interesting families here and we have formed many great friendships throughout the years!”
In 2003 The Fiorenza’s had a set of twin girls, Camilla and Caprina. In the early 2000's there was no school available on the island, but even before the couple had their twin girls, they joined their close friends Robert and Lexie Potamkin, to build Fisher Island Day School. “We had this feeling that Fisher Island needed a school. A couple of families came together, pitched in, and it turned out to be a great success,” explains Sandra. The school attracted not only students from Fisher Island, but also neighboring islands such as Star, Palm, and Hibiscus. Eventually this prompted the school to operate a private van for students coming from outside of Fisher Island. Sandra and Randy are no longer involved with the Fisher Island Day School, since they moved to Gables Estates, however they reminisce on starting up the school, which now has over 80 students each year. As the couple had their third daughter Lola in 2006, many families in their circle of friends
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Today, the Fiorenza family is currently building their second home in Gables Estates on Leucadendra Drive. Sandra is excited to move into their new home on Leucadendra, which has a contemporary design. “Our new home on Leucadendra will be contemporary, whereas our Arvida home is neo-classical Mediterranean. Ramon Pacheco also designed this home for us and we couldn’t be happier with how it’s coming along. We will probably list our Arvida home soon.” says Sandra.
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“My kids are my number one priority. My two twin girls are teenagers and my youngest is ten years old. "
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Although the Fiorenzas are in the midst of their new construction, Sandra says that their family life is still most important, “My kids are my number one priority. My two twin girls are teenagers and my youngest is ten years old. So my whole life has revolved around my kids the last few years: schedules, play dates, competitions, everything. And now that they are growing older they want their independence, but I still want to be there for them.” Sandra's twin daughters Camilla and Caprina, recently came back from a school trip to Spain and always enjoy traveling the world with their family. As her children gain their independence, Sandra feels a pull to get back into the real estate market. Her distinguished career as a prominent leader in the Miami Beach real estate community was founded on her well-established global network of luxury buyers. Today she’s regularly engaged in ONE Sotheby’s
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office meetings and advanced trainings using innovative online tools such as social media marketing. “You can see everything that 10 years ago you weren’t able to see. Now everyone educates themselves online,” Sandra recognizes about the ever-changingtechnology in the marketplace. For Sandra and Randy, it has been a real pleasure raising their three daughters in Gables Estates, and they look forward to creating memories in their new home on Leucadendra. It is an honor to feature the Fiorenza family in this issue of Life in the Estates, and we hope that you say “hello” next time you see the Fiorenzas at one of the Gables Estates neighborhood events! If you have a Gables Estates family that you’d like to nominate for one of our feature stories, please let us know. You can email: Daniel. Lerin@n2pub.com for more information.
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3070 SW 38th Ave. Miami,FL 33146 | Tel 305-442-2550
T HE M OS T RE COM M E N DE D YACH T B R OKER
by Gables Estates residents.
Captain Mike Brill Gables Native (305) 504-4663 mike@exportys.com www.exportys.com June 2017 t Life In The Estates
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“I love how Gables Estates is incorporating several events per year, including last year’s Halloween party and the Carnival in 2017. It really helps us get to know our amazing neighbors. There’s so many interesting families here and we have formed many great friendships throughout the years!” 42 Life In The Estates t June 2017
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