Jackie Soffer

One could say that the Abbey — the 219,000-square-foot shopping center that Turnberry purchased with Simon Property Group late last year for $131 million — was a little like unfinished family business for Jackie Soffer.

The property, rebranded the Abbey at Aventura, is adjacent to Turnberry’s Aventura Mall, the 2.8 million-square-foot shopping center that’s one of the largest in the United States and is the crown jewel of Aventura — the community that was master-planned and built by the late Don Soffer, Jackie’s father.

As far as storied real estate families go, it’s difficult to find a better one than that of Jackie Soffer’s. Aside from her father, her brother, Jeffrey, is the chairman and CEO of Fontainebleau Development, one of the world’s most sought-after hospitality brands. Her husband is Craig Robins, CEO of Dacra, which essentially forged the Miami Design District.

And now that Miami has taken its place in the spotlight, Turnberry isn’t resting on past glories.

“The demographic coming to Miami — and the demand that we’re having — is impressive,” Soffer said. “I wouldn’t say it was unexpected, but we’re achieving a positioning we weren’t expecting to have so quickly. That’s gratifying.”

To meet this changing demographic, Turnberry has been deep in the development of the multibillion-dollar condo-
rental project SoLe Mia in North Miami, a project where Turnberry is building the condo portion and LeFrak is developing the rentals.

The first phase of the condo portion of SoLe Mia — a portmanteau of Soffer and LeFrak — is getting its occupancy certificate in May, and according to Soffer the first round is about 80 percent sold. “We’ve built about 1,000 units,” she said. “We’ll launch a second condo tower over the summer or fall.”

At roughly the same time, Turnberry will be breaking ground with Terra on the Grand Hyatt Miami Beach, a 17-story, 800-key luxury hotel connected to the Miami Beach Convention Center.

“High-rise living is the growth vehicle for South Florida, because you can’t replace waterfront property,” Soffer said. “The market is stronger here than we anticipated. California has helped. And New York has helped.”