Presidente Supermarket coming to the $1 billion development replacing Southland Mall

Presidente Supermarket will anchor a “city within a city” as the faded Southland Mall in Cutler Bay evolves into the 98-acre, $1 billion Southplace City Center.

On Wednesday, Urban Retail Properties announced it had signed a 15-year lease with the Miami-based Presidente Supermarkets to serve as the anchor of the first residential tower that will start construction this summer on what used to be a Sears store at Southland Mall in South Miami-Dade.

A rendering of a new Southplace City Center on the Southland Mall property in Cutler Bay in South Miami-Dade. Courtesy of Cutler Bay

When Southplace City Center is completed over a seven year period the mixed-used development will feature new retail stores, restaurants, apartments and green spaces.

“We are excited to be part of this partnership and of the evolution of Southplace City Center,” Presidente Supermarkets owner and founder, Omar Rodriguez, said in a statement. “Presidente Supermarkets is ready to continue investing in our community, through job creation and economic development in our neighborhoods.”

Where the Presidente is going

The new Presidente grocery store at the budding Southplace City Center will be about 25,000 square feet and a centerpiece of an eight-story apartment building that will contain 350 apartments, according to Urban Retail Properties.

Presidente was founded by the Cuban American Rodriguez in 1990 and has become one of the largest Hispanic-owned supermarket chains in the country. There are more than 40 Presidentes from Miami to Orlando.

“Retailers are looking for ‘live-work-shop-play’ communities, and that is exactly what Southplace City Center will become,” said Paul Motta, COO of Urban Retail Properties, in a statement. “Adding Presidente as a key anchor tenant aligns with the vision for this project and strategically complements the existing retail.”

Southland Mall history

The $1 billion Southplace City Center redevelopment eventually will replace Southland Mall.

Southland Mall’s origins date in South Miami-Dade to 1960 — 45 years before Cutler Ridge incorporated as Cutler Bay. Then the Cutler Ridge Shopping Center, its original anchor was another supermarket, a Food Fair. By the late 1970s, Food Fair became Pantry Pride, headquartered in Fort Lauderdale. By 2000, Pantry Pride was out of business.

The Cutler Ridge Mall was all but destroyed by Hurricane Andrew in 1992. It was rebuilt and is now known as Southland Mall. This is a file photo of the mall when it was known as Cutler Ridge Mall in 1981. Miami Herald file

The shopping center expanded in 1978 under the name Cutler Ridge Mall, with department store anchors Jordan Marsh, JC Penneys, Luria’s, Lord & Taylor, Sears and a movie theater. The mall sits near the convergence of Florida’s Turnpike and U.S. 1.

But Hurricane Andrew in August 1992 wiped out nearly all of Cutler Ridge Mall, save the Sears. The mall was rebuilt and renamed Southland Mall and currently includes stores and restaurants like Aeropostale, Applebee’s, Champs and a Claire’s. But the 808,766 square-foot mall can’t compete with showier and more modern shopping plazas like Dadeland, Aventura, Brickell City Center and Sawgrass Mills in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

Southplace City Center vision

At full build-out, the 98-acre Southplace City Center is expected to offer about 4,500 new residential units, a town square green space area with bike, walking and golf cart trails, a hotel, a terraced community amphitheater and bandshell.

Other proposed amenities to come in several phases include lakes, a pedestrian bridge connecting its community to a new Miami-Dade rapid transit bus stop, as well as retail stores and restaurant concepts, said Jim Roberts, senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications for Urban Retail Properties in an email to the Miami Herald.