Ross and Soffer Walk From Miami Airport Hotel, Want County to Pay
Stephen Ross and Jeffrey Soffer are backing out of the 451-room Westin at Miami International Airport after the FAA rejected the height, TRD reports.
Two of the biggest names in South Florida development are walking away from a county airport hotel and asking the county to cover what the redesigns cost them. Stephen Ross of Related Companies and Jeffrey Soffer of Fontainebleau Development are backing out of the 451-room Westin at Miami International Airport, The Real Deal reported Oct. 8. The county is moving to terminate their 50-year ground lease.
Why it matters
The FAA rejected the plan for a 150-foot building over concerns it would create a radar blind spot, Miami-Dade Aviation Director Ralph Cutie told county commissioners this week, per TRD. A redesign did not produce a project the developers considered economically viable. The developers now want reimbursement for plan changes the county requested after the first FAA rejection, TRD reported.
For developers, the lesson is site selection. On airport land, federal height and radar review can sink a project after the lease is signed, and the county’s own 2023 approval made the lease subject to FAA sign-off.
The numbers
The county’s July 18, 2023 award memo (Agenda Item 8(P)(3)) covers about 1.82 acres of county land, a 50-year term and anticipated county revenue of $240 million over that term. It names FDR Miami Hotel LLC, a joint venture of Fontainebleau Development and The Related Companies, as the awardee.
Miami Today reported in November 2025 that the hotel faced years of further delay. TRD gives the rejected height as 150 feet and the room count as 451.
What’s next
Commissioners will decide how to handle the lease termination and the developers’ reimbursement request. We have not found a 2026 county agenda item or Aviation Department memo on either, so those details rest on TRD’s account.
If the county re-bids the site, bidders will price FAA height risk up front. See more in our South Florida coverage.
On the record
What we checked ourselves, and where you can check it too.
- Public recordThe county's July 18, 2023 award memo describes FDR Miami Hotel LLC as a joint venture of Fontainebleau Development and The Related Companies, leasing about 1.82 acres of county land for 50 yearsView the record on miamidade.gov
- Public recordThe same memo put anticipated county revenue at $240,000,000 over the 50-year term and made the lease subject to FAA approvalView the record on miamidade.gov
On the record
- Primary recordMiami-Dade County CommissionAgenda Item 8(P)(3), July 18, 2023: award of RFP-01677 to FDR Miami Hotel LLC
- Also reported by
- The Real DealRoss and Soffer's Miami airport hotel project dies
- Miami TodayAirport hotel will take at least six years