Billionaire Jeffrey Soffer has sold a portion of the parking lot at the Big Easy Casino in Hallandale Beach for $31.1 million. The 12.2-acre vacant site, located at 831 North Federal Highway, was purchased by an affiliate of Kadima Developers, according to property records and data from Vizzda. This transaction values the land at more than $2.5 million per acre.
Kadima Developers, based in Aventura and led by co-founders Alejandro Chaberman and Joseph Melul, financed part of the acquisition with a $17.6 million loan from RMWC. Shortly after acquiring the property, Kadima sold three 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 space, entertainment venues, and warehouses. “The firm will act as project manager for the 3 acres sold to the Persea entity,” said the spokesperson.
Kadima is also working on two other projects in Hallandale Beach. Construction began in October on Seven Park, a mixed-use development at 218-220 Southeast Seventh Street featuring 121 condominium units and 4,500 square feet of ground floor retail space. Fortune Development Sales is leading sales and marketing efforts for this project; condo prices start at $375,000. Last year, Kadima acquired this 1.1-acre site for $5.3 million.
In addition to Seven Park, Kadima is developing Blue Park—a planned eight-story building with 185 multifamily units—at an estimated cost of $40 million.
Jeffrey Soffer had purchased nearly 28 acres of what was then known as Mardi Gras Casino and Race Track in 2018 for $12.5 million. His company Fontainebleau Development owns several high-profile properties including Fontainebleau Miami Beach hotel.
Fontainebleau Miami Beach recently faced opposition regarding plans to add a waterpark with new facilities such as waterslides and cabanas; local activists and preservationists have expressed concerns about these proposed changes.
