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Subject 27989
Part II
A touch of their advertisement in the paper...
herald.com
LIVING
Published Sunday, June 27, 1999, in the Miami Herald
Fiesta has affordable homes in quaint,walled setting
By KAREN NAGLE
Special to The Herald
A new family-oriented community called Fiesta has sprung up in Southwest Miami-Dade. With just 70 single-family homes, Fiesta is a small, walled-in community with winding streets, sidewalks and streetlights that add a quaint charm and enhance the developments Mediterranean-style architecture.
The Weitzer Homes project is off the beaten path, but close and convenient to schools, parks, shopping and major highways. The one- and two-story homes, designed by architects Pascual, Perez & Associates, feature textured stucco exteriors and Spanish S-tile roofs. Priced from $109,990 to $129,990, the home designs range from 1,270 to 1,850 air-conditioned square feet.
Standard home sites are 50 feet by 100 feet, but larger lots can be purchased for an additional $2,500 to $12,000. The lots are landscaped, albeit minimally. Prices include three palms and 12 to 15 small plants in the front yard, and two trees in the back. Each home includes a very small concrete slab off the sliding-glass doors, but extended patios are an option. Pool packages start at $15,800 for a
15- by 30-foot pool.
Fiesta appeals primarily to the first-time buyer. The homes certainly lend themselves to young couples with children. They all feature three or four bedrooms, a yard sufficient in size for a pool or playground, and a double-size driveway even in the models with a single-car garage.
Serena Lakes Park is nearby; local public schools are Miami Heights
Elementary, Herbert Amons Middle School and South Dade High. Not only are the homes reasonably priced at $70 to $87 per air-conditioned
square foot, but other factors make Fiesta an affordable housing choice. For one thing, there are no community amenities and therefore no homeowners association fee to pay. In addition, buyers who use approved lenders (CTX Mortgage, American Trust Mortgage and Home Financing Center) receive a credit of $2,000 toward closing costs.
Weitzer, which has been building in South Florida for 25 years, is even helping out with the required 5 percent down payment: with $1,000 down, a buyer can make monthly payments on the balance.
At Fiestas sales center, there are four models. All have been upgraded from what is considered standard. Many -- but not all -- of these upgrades are identified by signs.
The base price includes carpeted bedrooms and ceramic tile flooring in all common living areas, bathrooms and kitchen. The appliance package includes a range with hood, 18-cubic-foot refrigerator with ice maker, garbage disposal, dishwasher, a large-capacity washer and dryer.
Hard to ignore in the sales models are such luxurious upgrades as recessed lights, floor-to-ceiling mirrored walls, whirlpool tubs, wood kitchen cabinets and tile counters. Prospective buyers should remember that options will increase the builders listed base price.
The models:
The Salsa. The smallest and least-expensive plan is a one-story home with 1,270 air-conditioned square feet that starts at $109,990. It is a three-bedroom, two-bath home with a great room and one-car garage.
Like all the models, the Salsa has a covered entry and single front door. Inside is the great room, a combined dining and living area with vaulted ceiling. The garage opens directly into this living area. The kitchen has a volume ceiling, small pantry and its counters and appliances are all against the walls, so there is nothing to define this space from the great room. The design does, however, provide enough room for a small table. Keeping this area bright are two windows and sliding glass doors which open outside.
An arched opening on the other side of the great room leads to the bedrooms. The master bedroom has a small, but adequate, walk-in closet which is within the master bath. This bath also has a linen closet, two sinks, Roman tub and separate water closet containing the toilet. There is no separate shower; the shower head is over the tub. The second and third bedrooms share a bathroom in the hall. In the same hall is a large closet that houses the washer and dryer -- convenient to the bedrooms, but also within view of the great room. This is the only model in which the laundry facilities are inside the house instead of in the garage.
As in all the models, the Salsa has raised-panel interior doors and marble windowsills, which add to the character and quality of the construction.
The Diamante. This three-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath plan has 1,580 air-conditioned square feet with a family room and one-car garage. It is a two-story model and has a base price of $121,990.
A divider wall just inside the front door helps to define the Diamantes small foyer as a separate area. The foyer opens to the living and dining room, a space made airy and bright with several windows, and there is a direct view of the stairs leading to the second floor.
A large powder room with a cabinet sink, toilet and linen closet is under these stairs. The design of this room is interesting because the toilet sits in the small alcove with sloping ceiling.
The kitchen, opposite the powder room, has angled counters that separate it from the breakfast nook and family room. Convenient features include a small pantry and direct access to the garage.
Upstairs are three bedrooms. The master suite has a large walk-in closet and open bathroom plan with double sinks, Roman tub, separate shower and toilet. The other two bedrooms are served by a full bathroom off the hall.
The Bravo. Features that distinguish the Bravo model from the other three designs offered at Fiesta are abundant vaulted ceilings and a split-bedroom floor plan. It is also the only model with a two-car garage. This three-bedroom, two-bath home has 1,572 air-conditioned square feet, all on one floor. The price starts at $129,990.
There is a feeling of elegance as one steps into the large entry foyer of the Bravo because the visitor faces a niche in the wall, a perfect spot to showcase a painting. Off the foyer is the living room and an arched passageway to the dining room. Both of these rooms feel spacious with volume ceilings, and the dining room has a partial wall with plant shelf open to the kitchen. The kitchen has a small pantry and ample, angled counters defining it from the family room. The vaulted ceiling adds visual space and sliding doors bring the
outside in.
The master bedroom also has an expansive vaulted ceiling, along with a luxurious walk-in closet accessible through the bath. There is a Roman tub, large shower, double sink, linen closet and separate water closet housing the toilet. The Bravos other two bedrooms, on the opposite side of the house, flank a full bathroom that opens to the hall.
The Rubi. This is the largest home available at Fiesta. It is a 1,850-square-foot, two-story design offered at a base price of $129,990. The Rubi has four bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths and a one-car garage. A powder room directly off the large foyer is at the center of the Rubis floor plan. Traffic flows in a large loop around this room through all common living areas on the first floor, from the family room through the kitchen to the dining and living rooms. The floor plan is open, but the Rubis kitchen is small. Its long, narrow
layout with all the counters against the wall make the space feel confining. Fortunately there is a sliding glass door here that leads outside.
Upstairs are the Rubis master bedroom and bath, and the three additional bedrooms. Of these, the largest has two windows instead of one, and an angled wall, which is architecturally pleasing. These bedrooms are served by a bathroom divided into a tub-and-toilet room beyond a section with two sinks just inside the door off the hall.
The community is off Southwest 137th Avenue between Coral Reef Drive
(Southwest 152nd Street) and Eureka Drive (Southwest 184th Street).
Karen Nagle is a freelance writer who lives in Southwest Miami-Dade County.
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