When is Sunset Place getting demolished? Why plans keep changing

Sunset Place is still there.

By now, the zombie South Miami mall that once defined suburban entertainment was supposed to be gone, razed to make way for a dense mega-development.

Read more 3 men, including teacher union rep, arrested in Miami-Dade child sex sting

The developers, who said in 2025 that they hoped to start demolition in the first quarter of this year, obviously haven’t done so.

But the plan, Midtown Development says, is still on. It’s going to take a little bit longer to start, but they’re not ready to say when.

Midtown Development, which acquired Sunset Place at the end of 2020 for $65.5 million, has also been completing the build-out of Midtown Miami after buying out the original developers.

One big holdup with Sunset Place, among others: The city of South Miami has been awaiting final approval by the Miami-Dade County Commission of a special taxing district and what’s known as a community redevelopment agency to help finance nearly $150 million in needed infrastructure improvements for the planned new development.

South Miami Mayor Javier Fernandez said that includes not just new water and sewer lines, improved sewer pump station capacity and extensive landscaping, but also a key piece of the new Sunset Place plan — the extension of downtown South Miami’s sidewalks and street grid into the new development, which will look and function more like an urban neighborhood than the closed-in mall it’s replacing.

A formal agreement with the county was finalized this week, Fernandez said on Friday. The County Commission is set to take a final vote in September, and Fernandez said he expects approval.

Once that’s in place, he said, mall owners Midtown Development can secure financing to start on their ambitious plan, to be built out in phases over as much as 20 years, and to buy out the leases of remaining tenants.

The master development plan, designed by London-based star architectural firm Heatherwick Studio and approved by the City Commission in 2024, envisions seven towers, from 12 stories to 33 stories, with some 1,500 residential units and a hotel, plus movie theaters and 150,000 square feet of shops and restaurants on the property’s 10 acres.

Midtown must also submit for city approval detailed site plans for individual phases as it finalizes its blueprint, Fernandez said. That hasn’t happened yet. One essential condition of the commission’s 2024 approval is that the developers must build the streets and sidewalks throughout the property first, much like Midtown Miami did, instead of extending it piece by piece as they undertake each phase.

“Over three years, we’ve been working really hard to be a positive force for the property’s transformation,” Fernandez said. “We have taken all the necessary steps to ensure their success. The framework is now in place for them to begin.”

Read more Jax Taylor seen in Florida with ex’s rep months before new PDA pics

Midtown officials declined an interview request from the Miami Herald.

In an emailed statement, Midtown principal Alex Vadia promised to update the public on the project’s status soon.

“Midtown Development remains fully committed to advancing infrastructure planning for the redevelopment of Sunset Place,” Vadia’s statement says. “We are grateful to Miami-Dade County and the City of South Miami for their collaborative, forward-thinking leadership throughout this process. Tackling Downtown South Miami’s significant infrastructure needs is an effort that will serve this community for generations to come. We look forward to continuing this work and sharing more with the public as our plans progress.”

Plans for downtown South Miami

Midtown’s Sunset Place redevelopment has been a linchpin of the city’s plans to revitalize its downtown, which has seen years of slumping fortunes, blamed in large part on Sunset Place’s steep decline from its peak in the early 2000s.

Once a much-imitated model of open-air suburban shopping and entertainment, the 10-acre mall is today largely a ghost town of vacant shops and deserted shopping concourses. While the AMC movie theaters and a Barnes and Noble remain open, longtime mall stalwart L.A. Fitness closed earlier this year.

One thing that’s not clear is whether Midtown intends to demolish Sunset Place all at once or in phases — a possible approach floated at one point.

That’s something Joaquin Ortiz, founder of Sunset Place’s Tea & Poets, would love to know.

Chess nights and open-mic poetry and live music events at the cafe have made it a rare Sunset Place success. The store just celebrated its 10th anniversary.

But Ortiz said that, like other tenants, he has yet to hear anything about the status of his lease from Midtown officials or their mall manager.

He has unsuccessfully tried to meet with the company’s principals several times, he said. He said he’s offered to move elsewhere in the mall if it’s going to be demolished in sections and asked whether he should plan on moving somewhere else, with no response.

“We’re all sitting here waiting for the shoe to drop,” Ortiz said. “I am interested in opening up a second business or moving elsewhere in the mall. But how long can we stay in the mall? I’m kind of at their mercy.”

Read more Brush fire in Broward County has burned 3,600 acres, officials say