Aventura Mall owners Turnberry and Simon Property Group are taking over an adjacent office and retail complex that was previously home to a Sears store.
Aventura-based Turnberry, led by Jackie Soffer and Indianapolis-based Simon, led by CEO David Simon, bought the previously named Esplanade at Aventura, a 219,000-square-foot mixed-use project at 19505 Biscayne Boulevard, according to a press release. New York-based Seritage Growth Properties, led by interim CEO Adam Metz, sold the property for $131 million, a source confirmed. Bloomberg first reported the deal.
Turnberry and Simon rebranded the project to the Abbey at Aventura, which is directly next to Aventura Mall at 19501 Biscayne Boulevard.
Commercial brokers once projected the mixed-use project could fetch roughly $200 million when Seritage first explored a potential selloff amid a broader portfolio disposition plan in 2022.
Seritage redeveloped the shuttered Sears store at Aventura Mall into the Esplanade, and secured tenants that include Amalfi Llama, Industrious, Jarana, Joey’s Aventura, Lego, North Italia, Pura Vida, Pure Barre, STK Steakhouse, Sweetgreen, Tremble and other service and medical users, the release states. Miami-based fitness club Anatomy also recently signed a lease for a 26,000-plus-square-foot gym.
In a statement, Turnberry principal Harrison Soffer said the ownership team plans to “re-imagine” the property by enhancing programming and pursuing additional innovative retail and experiential brands.
For Turnberry, the acquisition deepens the firm’s holdings in its hometown. In addition to Aventura Mall, Turnberry owns Town Center Aventura. The firm is also a partner in the SoLé Mia mixed-use community in North Miami and is co-developing an 800-key hotel connected to the Miami Beach Convention Center.
Simon, a global retail real estate investment trust, primarily owns malls and mixed-use centers across North America, Europe and Asia.
Seritage, which had battled construction liens, tenant litigation and pandemic-related delays at Esplanade before stabilizing leasing, has been in the process of selling down its holdings as part of a shareholder-approved liquidation strategy.
In June, Seritage sold a shuttered Sears store at Town Center at Boca Raton to Simon for $23 million.
