Developer Jeffrey Soffer put “unrelenting pressure” on the city of Aventura for the approval of a pair of condo towers in an exclusive waterfront enclave, a new lawsuit says.
The condominium associations for the North and South towers on Turnberry Isle sued the city and YCM Acquisition, an entity managed by Soffer, alleging the city greenlit an ordinance in 2023 and Soffer’s project last year, bypassing legal requirements for neighboring unit owners’ signoff.
“Through the favor-laden actions of city government,” Turnberry Isle parcel owners’ rights “have been cast aside,” the lawsuit says, adding that the complaint is a push to restore these rights.
The city’s 2023 ordinance was done “for an improper motive and by pretextual means” and it “shocks the conscience of ordinary citizens not named Soffer,” the suit goes on to say.
The associations, which represent 565 unit owners in the two 29-story buildings, filed their complaint in federal court in Miami Friday.
Soffer, who leads Aventura-based Fontainebleau Development, wants to build his towers with 264 units, parking and amenities on the site of Turnberry Isle’s tennis courts and spa, the suit says.
Fontainebleau declined to comment, and the city didn’t immediately return a request for comment. Attorneys for the Turnberry Isle associations also didn’t immediately provide a statement.
The two Turnberry Isle condo associations say Soffer urged the city to take action that paves the way for his project. But the filing doesn’t cite specific communications between the developer and Aventura officials or lobbying efforts. Instead, it highlights the Soffer family’s deep history in Aventura.
Soffer’s late father, developer Don Soffer is considered the “Godfather” of Aventura as he built out much of the city, with the family still owning high-profile assets there. In 2019, the younger Soffer and his sister, Jackie Soffer, split up the family empire, with Jackie keeping the Turnberry company name, including properties such as Aventura Mall, and Jeff keeping the Fontainebleau Miami Beach resort, with some projects remaining in shared ownership.
In Aventura, Soffer family holdings include Turnberry Isle Country Club and its golf course, and the Turnberry Resort and Spa. Beyond real estate, Aventura has paid tribute to Don Soffer, naming a high school after him.
“The Soffer family wields an enormous amount of power in the city. … This sway is evidenced by, among other things,” the city’s enactment of the 2023 ordinance, the suit claims.
Turnberry Isle, built by the Soffer family’s Turnberry in 1979 and ’80 and incorporated into Aventura when the city was formed in 1995, has a litigious history. A 1999 lawsuit and another in 2006 were consolidated and settled in 2011, leading to a deal memorialized in a slew of 2012 agreements, which mandate unanimous consent by Turnberry Isle parcel owners for new construction or any other material changes to the isle’s site plan, according to the lawsuit.
After Soffer’s YCM affiliate’s 2021 and 2023 project proposals went nowhere, as the North Tower opposed them and the filings also required a city variance approval, the city — at Soffer’s entity’s urging — approved an ordinance in 2023 to include underwater land in the total calculation for the development site’s size, allowing for a bigger project.
Although this appears to be a development rule change that applies citywide, it’s targeted for Turnberry Isle and was a workaround to the required unit owners’ approval for Soffer’s project, the complaint alleges. The lawsuit contends the ordinance created no usable land but only allowed more density.
The city approved the condo project last year. Both the 2023 ordinance and last year’s approval were done without a public hearing, the suit claims.
“This is the only project that has been treated as such and is attributable to defendant Soffer’s unrelenting pressure, aggressive activity and the city’s lack of fortitude to uphold the rights of its citizens,” the lawsuit says.
The complaint also details alleged zoning code violations for the project, including setback and open-space shortfalls and parking noncompliance, and it questions whether a standalone marina use is permitted under the site’s zoning.
The associations are seeking a declaration that the project cannot proceed without their consent, a ban on the city from issuing permits, damages and attorneys fees. It levies claims for violations of due process under the 14th Amendment, declaratory judgment, anticipatory breach of community agreements against Soffer’s YCM and breach of community agreements between unit owners and YCM’s predecessor.
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