South Florida Business Journal | Alicia Cervera Sr. named SFBJ’s 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award honoree

Alicia Cervera Sr., who helped pioneer the international condo market on Brickell Avenue in Miami, will be honored with the South Florida Business Journal’s 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award.

The founder and chair of Miami-based Cervera Real Estate, sold many of the most prominent condos in Miami when the city was first emerging as a global destination for luxury condos. She was among the first brokers to reach overseas and heavily market Miami condos in Latin America, a phenomenon that has literally reshaped the city’s skyline.

Brickell is the center of Miami’s high-rise living and financial sector today, but when Cervera moved to the city in 1961 it was a low-key neighborhood of mostly single-family homes. In 1967, she read a story about the city changing the zoning on Brickell Avenue to multifamily. She swiftly identified a property to buy for only $97,000 but had one major hurdle: She only had $1,000 in the bank.

Not one to be deterred, Cervera said she sold her silver and wedding ring and borrowed money from her father to secure a bank loan and buy the property. She later sold it, as she was unable to pay the taxes, for a big profit. That money helped her enter the real estate industry at a time when few women were in the business.

Founding her company in 1969, Cervera read that New York billionaire Harry Hemsley planned to build a condo on Brickell and she reached out to him.

“I wrote this billionaire, and I had very little money in the bank, and I said I think I’m qualified to sell your condo,” Cervera said. “To my great surprise, he called me and told me he wanted to see me.”

Cervera met Hemsley at his penthouse in Palm Beach and landed the job. At the time, most developers deployed in-house sales associates. Cervera was one of the first brokerages to sign an exclusive sales listing with a condo development in Miami, a model that’s predominantly still used today.

After she was hired, then came the tough part. Hemsley asked Cervera to sell the 254-unit Palace on Brickell for $150 per square foot – considerably more than adjacent condos.

It's important to note that up until then, most Miami condos were marketed locally. But Cervera told Hemsley they should market the property internationally. Her father worked as the Peruvian ambassador to the United Nations for three years, so she was familiar with the trends in Latin America and figured life in Miami would appeal to Latin Americans.

“My idea was to invite them here to see Miami and how beautiful it was, not just to sell them an apartment,” she said.

Cervera said her company was the broker for over 80% of the condos developed on Brickell, plus six of the seven waterfront condos in the South of Fifth neighborhood of Miami Beach. She told Related Group’s Jorge M. Pérez that his rental project in South of Fifth would make much more money as a condo, and that set the stage for another prime location for luxury condos.

Today, Cervera Real Estate has 300 associates and it continues to represent many of the largest condo developments in South Florida, including Aston Martin Residences, Natiivo Miami and 1428 Brickell. It also does commercial real estate deals. Her daughters, CEO Veronica Cervera Goeske and Managing Partner Alicia Cervera Lamadrid, have been with the company since the 1980s. Three of her grandchildren now work for the family business.

Cervera’s achievements will be celebrated at the Business Journal’s 26th annual Business of the Year Awards on April 13 at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach.