Donald Soffer
| Donald Morley Soffer | |
|---|---|
| Born |
September 20, 1932 Duquesne, Pennsylvania |
| Nationality | United States |
| Education | B.A. Brandeis University |
| Occupation | Businessman, investor, philanthropist |
| Known for | Development of Aventura, Florida |
| Net worth |
 $4.2 Billion USD (May 2016) |
| Spouse(s) | 5, currently Michele |
| Children | 7 |
| Family | Joseph Soffer (uncle) |
Donald Soffer (born September 20, 1932) is an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He is a real estate developer who developed Florida swampland into what was to become the city of Aventura, Florida. As of May 2016, he and his family are worth $2.2 billion.
Soffer was born to a Jewish family in Duquesne, Pennsylvania near Pittsburgh, the son of Ida (née Kessler) and Harold “Harry” Soffer who sold appliances and owned a Studebaker car dealership. Harold's brother was Joseph Soffer (who would found the Pittsburgh-based real estate development firm, the Soffer Organization). In 1955, he graduated from Brandeis University on a football scholarship with a B.A. in economics. After school, he returned to Pittsburgh and built shopping malls for Don Mark Realty, a partnership founded by his father, Edward J. Lewis, Lewis' father, Eugene Lebowitz, and Lewis' brother-in-law, Mark Mason (Don Mark Realty would be renamed the Oxford Development Company). In 1965, Don Mark built South Hills Village, Pittsburgh’s first indoor mall. In 1967, with funding from the John Hancock Life Insurance Company, Oxford Development partnered with the Arlen Realty and Development Corporation to form the DonArl Partnership and bought 785 acres of mostly swampland in South Florida for $6 million.
Donald Soffer was given the primary responsibility develop the project. Originally named Turnberry, Soffer renamed the site Aventura (Spanish for adventure) and set about to build an upper class development centered around the Aventura Country Club with a golf course designed by architect Robert Trent Jones. The project required that he drain the swamps (to the ire of environmental activists) and re-zone the property from residential single family to high-rise development (to the ire of controlled-growth advocates). With the support of then governor, Claude Kirk, the development went ahead. In 1969, Metro-Dade County approved the 23,900 condo unit master plan which included the construction of a fire station, a library, and a causeway to Sunny Isles Beach. They completed the first stage in 1970 and by 1977 had completed the golf course and added another 4,000 units. The venture was very profitable as they purchased land at $5,000 an acre and sold plots for as high as $2 million an acre in 1981.
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