Shops at Sunset Place in South Miami nearing demolition as $150 million infrastructure district approved

Miami-Dade County commissioners approved a special district on Sept. 1 to finance about $150 million in infrastructure for the Shops at Sunset Place redevelopment, moving the long-delayed project closer to demolition.

The Downtown SoMi Community Development District will provide a mechanism to pay for water, sewer, utilities, street improvements and access to the property, Carlos Villanueva, district sales manager of The Keyes Company's Coral Gables office, said.

Demolition had been expected to begin in the first quarter of 2026. Villanueva said it is now targeted for early 2027.

"The project itself is set for demolition probably early next year, is what they're targeting as of right now," Villanueva said. "So it looks like it's full speed ahead, as they say."

The redevelopment will proceed in phases. The first phase is targeted for completion around 2029 and is expected to include a condo-hotel and street improvements, Villanueva said.

Plans call for replacing the largely vacant mall with a mixed-use development of seven towers ranging from 12 to 33 stories. The project includes 1,513 residences, a 287-room hotel and a 1,300-seat movie theater, according to documents filed with Miami-Dade County.

The plans also list 202,462 square feet of retail space and 65,892 square feet of office space.

Villanueva said there is already interest in the future commercial space.

"There's definitely a lot of interest, because it is going to be the epicenter of South Miami," he said.

He expects restaurants, cafes, boutique shops, home-design businesses and higher-end specialty retailers to be among the businesses best suited for the development.

The project is intended to replace a retail model that struggled at Sunset Place, a South Miami shopping center that has sat largely vacant as it moved toward redevelopment.