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Soffer is celebrated as the founder and godfather of Aventura, turning 785 acres of North Miami-Dade swampland into a prestigious community with high-rises, golf courses, the Aventura Mall—one of the nation's most profitable upscale malls—and Turnberry Isle Miami. His developments reshaped South Florida's landscape, including restoration of the Fontainebleau Miami Beach, creating thousands of residential units, office spaces, and economic hubs. His philanthropy deeply impacted the University of Miami with a $25 million gift to its medical school, alongside lasting family legacy through Turnberry Associates in the region.
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Born on September 20, 1932, in Duquesne, Pennsylvania, to businessman Harry Soffer and Ida Kessler, Donald Morley Soffer graduated from Brandeis University in 1955 with a degree in economics. He entered the family construction and real estate business, building suburban shopping malls, and at age 35 acquired 785 acres of swampland in North Miami-Dade County in 1967, sketching his vision on a cocktail napkin. Over the next decades, he developed the City of Aventura, including the iconic Aventura Mall, Turnberry Isle Resort, thousands of residential units, office buildings, and restored the Fontainebleau Miami Beach. In 1977, he founded Turnberry Associates to expand his projects. A dedicated philanthropist, he donated $25 million to the University of Miami's Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute, $15 million to Brandeis University—its largest alumni gift—and supported education and arts causes. Soffer passed away on July 20, 2025, at age 92 in his Aventura home.
