CCG – As the 98-acre, $1 billion Southplace City Center transforms from the rundown Southland Mall in Cutler Bay into a “city within a city,” Presidente Supermarket will serve as its anchor.
The first residential tower is set to begin building this summer on the site of the former Sears store at Southland Mall in South Miami-Dade. Urban Retail Properties announced on Wednesday that it has inked a 15-year lease with the Miami-based Presidente Supermarkets to anchor the project.
This is a conceptual drawing of the proposed Southplace City Center, which will replace the Southland Mall in Cutler Bay, Miami-Dade County. As Presented by Cutler Bay. Southplace City Center is a mixed-use development that will include new shops, restaurants, apartments, and green areas when it is finished in seven years.
Presidente Supermarkets’ founder and owner, Omar Rodriguez, expressed his excitement about the relationship and the development of Southplace City Center. “Presidente Supermarkets is prepared to maintain its commitment to our community by fostering economic growth and creating jobs in our surrounding areas.”
Location of the president’s next stop
According to Urban Retail Properties, the eight-story apartment building in the emerging Southplace City Center will feature 350 apartments, and the new Presidente grocery store, which will occupy around 25,000 square feet, will serve as the building’s focal point.
The Cuban-American Rodriguez established Presidente in 1990, and since then, it has grown to become one of the major grocery chains owned by Hispanics in the nation. The distance between Miami and Orlando is more than 40 presidents.
In a statement, Paul Motta, COO of Urban Retail Properties, stated that Southplace City Center will transform into a “live-work-shop-play” community, which is exactly what retailers are seeking. It is in keeping with the project’s objective to have Presidente as a major anchor tenant, and their presence will strategically enhance the current retail offerings.
Historic Southland Mall
Eventually, Southland Mall will be replaced by the $1 billion renovation of Southplace City Center.
In 1960, 45 years before Cutler Ridge incorporated as Cutler Bay, Southland Mall had its beginnings in South Miami-Dade. Following that, a Food Fair was the initial anchor store of Cutler Ridge Shopping Center. Pantry Pride, with headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, was established in the late 1970s from Food Fair. The year 2000 marked the end of Pantry Pride’s operations.
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In 1992, Hurricane Andrew nearly obliterated the Cutler Ridge Mall. After its reconstruction, the name was changed to Southland Mall. Back in 1981, when it was still called Cutler Ridge Mall, this picture was taken at the mall. The Miami Herald article
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Expanding in 1978 as Cutler Ridge Mall, the retail center now houses JC Penney, Jordan Marsh, Luria’s, Lord & Taylor, Sears, and a movie theater. Convergence of U.S. 1 and Florida’s Turnpike is close to the mall.
Unfortunately, except for Sears, Cutler Ridge Mall was practically leveled by Hurricane Andrew in August 1992. Aeropostale, Applebee’s, Champs, and Claire’s are among the retailers and restaurants that call the remodeled and rechristened Southland Mall home. The 808,766 square foot mall, however, is outclassed by more ostentatious and contemporary shopping centers in the Miami-Dade and Broward counties, such as Sawgrass Mills, Dadeland, Aventura, and Brickell City Center.
Looking ahead, South Place City Center
The 98-acre Southplace City Center is set to have 4,500 new homes when it is fully developed. It will also have a town square with trails for bikes, pedestrians, and golf carts, a hotel, a community amphitheater with terraces, and a bandshell.
In an email to the Miami Herald, Jim Roberts, the senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications for Urban Retail Properties, mentioned that the community would soon have a pedestrian bridge that would link it to a new rapid transit bus stop in Miami-Dade. Roberts also mentioned that there would be lakes, retail stores, and restaurant concepts.
