Souh Florida was once strictly an exotic escape for those living in freezing winter locations around the country. Clearly, many of those visitors have become residents, some full time others part time. One of the main developers to recognize this visitor trend and cash in on the market. I believe this group is Turnberry Associates.

We took a look at their website and discovered that Donald Soffer, the founder, was originally from Pittsburgh. It’s imaginable that South Florida was a dream location and perfect escape from freezing cold Pittsburgh winters. In fact, his bio reveals a quick explanation of this connection.

“As a child, Donald visited his grandparents regularly in Florida and fell in love with South Florida’s fantastic year-round climate and proximity to the beaches. Donald also had the foresight to know that Florida had great potential for development, and in 1967, he purchased 785 acres of submerged and undeveloped swamp and marshland facing the Intracoastal Waterway in North Dade County.

During the next 40 years, Donald transformed that land into the world-famous Turnberry Isle Resort & Club, The Aventura Mall, thousands of residential units and numerous offices. Today, Aventura is a self-contained city, revolving around golf courses, lakes, bike and exercise paths and exclusive condominiums, hotels, shopping centers, office buildings, banks and more… much of it developed by Turnberry Associates. The unique vision of this planned community bears a striking resemblance to the napkin sketch Donald created in 1967. ”

We started to look for other Pittsburgh connections within South Florida or specifically Aventura. Not sure if there’s any connection, but the Aventura law firm Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC has a huge basis in Pittsburgh. It’s interesting that this major law firm with most offices housing large numbers of attorneys has an office with only five attorneys in Aventura. Maybe Turnberry Associates worked with this firm in Pittsburgh and brought them down while they slowly developed the land today known as the City of Aventura. Behind every developing real estate team is a high profile law firm – politics, zoning, and legal procedures are key elements to any major real estate development.

Either way, these teams built a luxury town that demands the best. Aventura, a once exotic place to visit now has schools, a stable community and soon a cultural center. The question is, has the future money dried up for this investment and is the excitement gone? Did the city plateau? We discovered an article discussing how Turnberry Associates is now investing their time and dollar in the Bahamas.

“A massive wave of new development is taking place in The Bahamas. It is experiencing astonishing growth, fueled largely by high-end, coastal developments catering to wealthy Americans who dream of a tropical second home.

Among the developers investing in The Bahamas are Turnberry Associates of Aventura, Florida and Kerzner International of Nassau, which owns the world-famous Atlantis Resort.

Together they are building the Residences at Atlantis, which will be located adjacent to the world-famous Atlantis Resort. At a development cost of $200 million, this property includes a 22-story condo hotel with 493 condo vacation homes.” Read Full Article

Based on the history of Turnberry in Aventura, it’s likely their involvement in the Bahamas is not a quick visit. They have successfully developed an amazing luxury town that appealed to those looking to escape. What better place to escape than the Bahamas – it sounds amazing even to Floridians. Wonder if Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC will open a Bahamas office? We wish them all good luck on their next venture. Hopefully, the Aventura developers won’t abandon this city no matter where else they go to develop – it doesn’t look like that will happen anytime soon.

Know the history of your city to understand what the future will bring. Things don’t happen by accident. Remember a city is designed with a lot of planning, zoning, politics, influence, commercial real estate leases, legal work, and money. All these elements must connect to bring success, learn how to connect the dots.

Related posts:

1. Life at Turnberry Condos