Is Kendall really becoming its own city?

Sunset Place

Miami-Dade approved the $149 million community development district on September 1. Demolition slipped from early 2026 to early 2027.

Kendall Drive transit

In July the Mayor's office told commissioners the full SMART Plan is about $7.6 billion short over 20 years. Only the South Dade TransitWay has launched.

Kendall Town Center

Moved into the "Filed or Approved" group below. The plan is filed, but the county has not approved it yet.

Retail turnover at Palms at Town & Country

Tesla signed a lease on the former Toys "R" Us building at 8789 SW 117th Avenue, about 45,255 square feet, for a showroom and service center. The target is a late 2026 opening, pending county review.

Publix closed its 40-year-old Mills Drive store in January 2026, demolished it by mid-April, and is building a bigger, modern store on the same site. Barnes & Noble and a new Starbucks have already opened.

One rumor worth retiring: a plan to turn the Kohl's building into apartments was only ever an early, informal pre-application conversation. No application was filed, and Kohl's is open today. Good to know if a client brings it up.

What it means. No single headline project here. It is a steady wave of national and regional tenants turning over at one center, and that kind of momentum supports values on the surrounding blocks without needing one big catalyst.

The Shops at Kendall Town Center

MMG Equity Partners is under contract on a 5.1 acre site inside the 70 acre Kendall Town Center master plan. The plan calls for about 36,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, with roughly half reserved for restaurants. The developer is seeking administrative site plan approval, with a land closing targeted for the end of 2026 and groundbreaking in early 2027.

Raising Cane's, El Car Wash, and Chase have already claimed nearby outparcels, and a self-storage facility and a townhome community just north of Kendall Drive are in the works.

What it means. A real project with a filed plan and active leasing around it, but the retail center is still pre-construction and the plan is not yet approved. If you are in West Kendall and thinking long term, this is a corridor to watch.

Sunset Place redevelopment

South Miami approved the site plan in October 2024: seven towers, 12 to 33 stories, designed by Heatherwick Studio (the firm behind New York's High Line) on the roughly 10 acre site of the old Shops at Sunset Place. The plan includes about 1,513 residences, a 287-room hotel, a 1,300-seat theater, and new retail and office space.

On September 1, 2026, Miami-Dade commissioners approved a $149 million community development district to pay for the water, sewer, utility, and street work the project needs. Demolition is now targeted for early 2027 and phase one for 2029. The developer has to reach a $300 million property value benchmark by 2034.

What it means. The biggest bet on South Miami's downtown in a generation. It is approved and the county financing is in place. What has not happened yet is the demolition. I will update this page the moment ground breaks.

Kendall Drive rapid transit (SMART Plan)

Miami-Dade named Kendall Drive one of six SMART Plan rapid transit corridors. The recommended option narrowed to curbside bus lanes shared with turning traffic, but it was put on hold pending a bus lane test on Flagler Street, and that test was scrapped in early 2026 because the corridor's traffic was too heavy to give up a lane.

The bigger problem is money. The full SMART Plan is about $7.6 billion short over the next 20 years, and closing the gap could take a higher transit sales tax or a new dedicated property tax. Kendall is one of the five corridors still without funding.

What it means. The long-term direction is good for property along the corridor, but there is no funded timeline. Do not buy today betting on a train or dedicated bus lane that is not scheduled. Buy for the commute you actually have.

West Kendall spaceport designation

Miami-Dade commissioners voted 10 to 2 in January 2025 to seek a state spaceport designation for land at and near Miami Executive Airport, the old Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport. No launches are planned there. The aim is aerospace tax incentives and workforce training tied to area schools.

The bills carrying it in the 2026 session, HB 1177 and SB 1274, died in committee on March 13.

What it means. The earliest-stage item on this list. It could bring aerospace jobs and investment to West Kendall down the line, but there is no property impact to plan around yet.