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(Photo by Alan Phillip)
Miami-Dade County commissioners have passed a resolution co-designating the portion of S. Miami Avenue from SE 15th Road to SE 13th Street/Coral Way as “Alicia Cervera Way.”
The resolution, which was prepared at the request of prime sponsor Commissioner Eileen Higgins, District 5, and adopted with unanimous support on Mar. 1, honors Miami real estate pioneer Alicia Cervera Sr. for her direct, significant lifetime contributions to this community.
Cervera Sr., often called the “Queen of Brickell,” has participated in every Miami real estate cycle since launching the Cervera Real Estate brokerage firm in 1969. She has played a pivotal role in opening Miami’s door to the global brokerage community and helped revitalize neighborhoods across the region, including the Brickell financial district, Miami Beach’s South of Fifth, Bal Harbour, Coconut Grove, Downtown Miami and Edgewater.
Now 92, Cervera Sr. has worked with 85 developers and sold more than 115 luxury high-rise condominium towers, representing $21 billion in sales of more than 70,000 units.
“I am proud to recognize Alicia Cervera Sr. for her contribution to the development of Miami,” said Commissioner Higgins, who officially unveiled the Alicia Cervera Way street signs during a private ceremony hosted by the Cervera family on Apr. 13. “Thank you for your grit and vision, you have most definitely left your mark in this city for generations to come. You have defied the odds — as a woman, an immigrant, and an entrepreneur.”
Before Fidel Castro took power, Cervera Sr. lived with the privileges that came with a diplomatic background — her father was Peruvian ambassador to the United Nations and Cuba. She was the wife of a sugar producer.
The Cuban Revolution stripped her family of its holdings, and like so many others she fled in 1961 with her husband, Javier, to join their young daughters in Miami.
Vision and hard work prevailed, and 53-years later the firm she launched in 1969 with the support of her husband remains one of Miami’s most successful luxury condo brokerages.
In 2016, Mayor of Miami Tomas Regalado proclaimed Oct. 18 as “Alicia Cervera Day” and said that no other woman has had a larger impact on the development of Miami since Julia Tuttle founded the city in 1895. Today, Cervera Real Estate has eight South Florida offices and a team of more than 300 real estate agents. Together with her daughters and partners, Veronica Cervera Goeseke as CEO and Alicia Cervera Lamadrid as managing partner, they continue to operate Cervera Real Estate as a family-owned business, including members of the third generation.
“Cervera Real Estate was born with the purpose to serve developers and out of a vision that Miami could one day become a world capital,”Cervera Sr. said. “Now, looking at the Miami skyline of this Magic City we call home, I see my dreams become reality. To my esteemed colleagues, to my friends, to the entire Cervera Real Estate family and to my beloved family, I extend my deep appreciation for your support along this journey.”
Among those present to commemorate the milestone achievement were Cervera Sr.’s daughters, Veronica and Alicia; her son, Javier Cervera Jr., a prominent real estate developer and CEO of Cervera Real Estate Ventures, as well as members from the family’s third and fourth generation.
Special guests in attendance for the ceremony, included Florida State Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez; Commissioner Manolo Reyes; Commissioner Jorge Fors; Commissioner Jesus Tundidor; CEO of Arquitectonica Bernardo Fort Brescia, and CEO of Artefacto Paulo Bacchi.
Prior to the unveiling, Commissioner Eileen Higgins presented Cervera Sr. with a proclamation declaring Apr. 13 as “Alicia Cervera Day” in Miami-Dade County. Additionally, State Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez presented Cervera Sr. with a special lifetime achievement proclamation on behalf of the Florida State Senate and the Miami Association of Realtors, respectively.
In addition to her professional work, Cervera Sr. is an avid supporter of her community, including the American Red Cross and the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts.
For the past 40 years, she has been president of Clinica San Juan de Dios Miami Foundation, a hospital for disabled children in her native Peru. In recent years, Cervera Sr. has been a vocal advocate for the need to build affordable housing and believes it is one of the biggest challenges facing our community.
