Real Estate Forum - April 2012

repositioning and revitalization of Miami’s South Beach District through the restoration of Art Deco landmarks and the creation of new commercial, creative and cultural opportunities. Dacra, which is behind the transformation of the Miami Design District, also developed mixed-use projects on Lincoln Road and Española Way that combine forward-thinking urban design with commercial viability. In 1999, Dacra acquired 8. 5 acres on the southern tip of Allison Island with a vision to create Aqua, a new urbanist community.

MEL SEMBLER

Founder and chairman emeritus of the Sembler Co., Mel Sembler served as US Ambassador to Italy from 2001 to 2005 and as US Ambassador to Australia and Nauru from 1989 to 1993. On the business front, the Sembler Co. is one of the nation’s most highly recognized shopping center developers. A past president of the International Council of Shopping Centers, Sembler has served in the group for 25 years. He’s also on the boards of several banks, including the First Bank of Treasure Island, National Bank, First Union Bank and American Momentum Bank. Sembler Co. continues to develop projects such as Boynton Town Center and Renaissance Commons, even in a down economy. Sembler also built Duval Park, a residential complex in St. Petersburg intended to recreate the charm of Old Key West. Although best known as a developer, Sembler is also renowned for his activism in the anti-drug movement.

JAMES M. SENEFF, JR.

Founder and executive chairman of CNL Financial Group, James Seneff boasts a real estate investment career that began in 1973 with a $5,000 loan and a 50-year plan. CNL and its affiliates have since formed or acquired companies with more than $26 billion in assets. In 2006-2007, CNL sold $15 billion in REIT assets, including CNL Hotels & Resorts, CNL Retirement Properties and Trustreet Properties, at or near the market peak. Seneff chairs CNL’s four non-traded REITs—Global Income Trust, Global Growth Trust, CNL Lifestyle Properties and CNL Healthcare Trust—and is executive chairman of CNLBancshares. The company expanded into commercial real estate services in 2007 and now has a presence in seven US cities.

DONALD SOFFER

Donald Soffer transformed a mosquito-infested swamp in North Dade County into an upscale, planned community. It all started about 50 years ago when he purchased a 785-acre tract of marshland and sketched his vision on a cocktail napkin. That vision became South Florida’s Aventura. Although he built an upscale community, Soffer came from humble roots.

He was born and raised in the small, poor steel town of Duquesne,

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PA. His father, Harold, sold cars and appliances before starting a successful real estate and development business. When he came into his own, Donald Soffer spent 40 years building the Turnberry Isle Miami and the Aventura Mall, as well as thousands of residential units and numerous offices. Aventura is now a self-contained city with golf courses, lakes, bike and exercise paths, hotels and more—much of it developed by the company he founded, Turnberry Associates.

MARTIN “HAP” STEIN

Faced with a double-digit decrease in consumer spending, more retail closures than openings and a nonexistent capital market, credited with sharpening the company’s focus on its current niche— grocery-anchored shopping centers. Regency went public as a REIT in Stein’s first year as CEO and now boasts 396 properties.

TERRY STILES

Terry Stiles heads one of the largest full-service real state companies in the Southeast, a firm his father Howard Stiles launched in 1951. Stiles Corp. has developed more than 37 million square feet of real estate. Stiles has built his personal and corporate reputation on being at the forefront of commercial real estate trends, building the first master-planned corporate park in Broward County and the first speculative office building in an urban downtown area in the nation after a five-year period of slow construction activity. Stiles has over a million feet of office space in Downtown Ft. Lauderdale and has developed many of the high-pro-file projects on Las Olas Boulevard, including the Bank of America Plaza at Las Olas City Center and 350 and 450 Las Olas Center.

MICHAEL SWERDLOW

Michael Swerdlow is the brains behind South Florida projects like the Dolphin Mall, a 1.4-million-square-foot outlet center in Miami, as well as Dolphin Commerce Center, a planned three-million-square-foot corporate park in Miami, and Las Olas Riverfront, a retail entertainment venue along Ft. Lauderdale’s waterfront. The hands-on chairman and CEO of the Swerdlow Group taps his 30-plus years of experience in evaluating and selecting new development opportunities and in making major decisions regarding architectural design and key professional resources. Swerdlow is currently working on Biscayne Landing, one of the most significant urban redevelopments in South Florida’s history and one of the largest residential projects planned on a former Superfund site. ◆