Billionaire Jeffrey Soffer has sold a portion of the parking lot at the Big Easy Casino in Hallandale Beach for $31.1 million. The transaction involved 12.2 vacant acres located at 831 North Federal Highway, according to property records and data from Vizzda. The sale price comes to over $2.5 million per acre.
The seller was an affiliate of Fontainebleau Development, Soffer’s Aventura-based company. The buyer is an affiliate of Kadima Developers, also based in Aventura and led by co-founders Alejandro Chaberman and Joseph Melul. Kadima financed part of the purchase with a $17.6 million loan from RMWC.
Immediately after acquiring the property, Kadima sold three out of the 12 acres for $12 million to an affiliate of Persea Ventures, a Miami-based venture capital firm focused on technology and led by Mateo Pugliese-Bassi.
A spokesperson for Kadima stated that the company plans to develop all 12 acres into a master-planned community that will include apartments, condominiums, retail spaces, entertainment venues, and warehouses. Kadima will also serve as project manager for the three acres now owned by Persea Ventures.
Kadima is currently working on two other projects in Hallandale Beach. In October, construction began on Seven Park at 218-220 Southeast Seventh Street. This $70 million mixed-use development will feature 121 condo units and 4,500 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Fortune Development Sales has been selected to handle sales and marketing for Seven Park, with condo prices starting at $375,000.
Kadima purchased the site for Seven Park last year for $5.3 million and is also developing Blue Park, a planned eight-story building with 185 multifamily units costing about $40 million.
Soffer acquired the nearly 28-acre casino property—formerly known as Mardi Gras Casino and Race Track—for $12.5 million in 2018. His company Fontainebleau Development owns several properties including Fontainebleau Miami Beach, which has recently faced public opposition over plans to build a waterpark on its grounds.
Last month saw activists, preservationists, and residents raise concerns about proposed additions at Fontainebleau Miami Beach that would include a mid-rise podium connected to waterslides, new cabanas, bathrooms, and a children’s play pool.
