Donald Soffer, Developer Who Founded Aventura, Dies At 92
Donald Soffer, who turned 785 acres of Miami-Dade County swampland into the bustling city of Aventura, passed away on Sunday. The founder of Turnberry Associates was 92.
Among his signature projects, Soffer developed the Aventura Mall, where the first Macy’s outside of New York opened in 1983.
“Donald Soffer built more than landmark destinations during his lifetime; he built a legacy defined by vision, generosity and impact,” his family company said in a press release confirming his death. “He will be forever remembered by the communities he created, the lives he touched, and his family which continues to build on the foundation he laid.”
Soffer, born in Pennsylvania on Sept. 20, 1932, started his career in Pittsburgh with projects like the 1.1M SF Monroeville Mall before moving to South Florida in the 1960s. He purchased the land that became Aventura for $6M in 1967, according to the release.
The idea for Aventura started as a sketch on a napkin, planning the city centered around a golf course and surrounding high-rise residences. His plans came to fruition when Metro-Dade County approved a nearly 24,000-condo master plan in 1969.
Soffer founded Turnberry in 1977 and eventually left its leadership to his children, Jackie and Jeffrey Soffer. The siblings led the company together before splitting in 2019. The two divided assets between Turnberry Associates, led by Jackie, and Fontainebleau Development, led by Jeffrey.
Soffer is survived by his wife, Michele King Soffer, six children, 13 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. One of his daughters, Jill Soffer, died in 2023.
He graduated from Brandeis University in 1954 and went on to serve in the United States Army’s 101st Airborne Division. He supported the University of Miami and Mount Sinai Medical Center and helped launch the Aventura Turnberry Jewish Center.
He received the Simon Wiesenthal Center Humanitarian Award in 2024, and his alma mater provided him with an honorary doctorate in 2023. The city of Aventura honored the developer by naming the Don Soffer Aventura High School, a tuition-free charter school, after him in 2019.
His legacy continues to reshape Miami. Turnberry, in a partnership with LeFrak, is developing the 184-acre SoLé Mia master development in North Miami. It is also developing the 800-key Grand Hyatt Miami Beach next to the Miami Beach Convention Center in partnership with Terra Group.
Fontainebleau owns the 22-acre Fontainebleau Miami Beach on Collins Avenue, for which it landed a $1.2B financing package in December. It also owns the JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort and Spa in Aventura, which was developed by Donald Soffer.
