Codina Partners Acquires Former Sears Site At Hialeah’s Westland Mall

Codina Partners, a real estate development, investment, and property management firm led by father-daughter team Armando Codina and Ana-Marie Codina Barlick, has acquired the former Sears site at Westland Mall in Hialeah.

Seritage SRC Finance LLC sold the 15-acre property at 1625 W 49th St for $16.5 million. The parcel has been vacant since February of 2020.

The newly acquired land encompasses the former Sears site, the surrounding parking lots and commercial outparcels. Codina Partners, following the closure of the sale, formed a joint venture with Westland Mall owner, Centennial, to redevelop the site to complement the existing shopping center by adding a mixed-use concept with a residential rental component.

Codina Partners has been a leader of innovation, responsible for the development of Beacon Logistics Park—a leading industrial complex in the northwestern part of the city that was built on the site of a former lake. The state-of-the-art park, comprised of over 1.3 million square feet of industrial space, is now fully leased and boasts tenants such as Cargill, Custom Veterinary Services, All Glass, and All Florida Paper—expanding the City’s capacity for commerce.

“Following the success of Beacon Logistics Park in Hialeah, and the incredible growth of Downtown Doral, we encouraged Codina Partners to direct their focus and vision to the City of Hialeah,” said Hialeah Mayor Esteban Bovo. “As Hialeah continues to grow in population and employment, the need for quality housing has rapidly increased. This redevelopment endeavor will address this demand and give our flourishing city something we’ve never had: a vibrant and accessible city center where residents can seamlessly live, work, play and thrive—an epicenter for the cultivation of community.”

Codina is planning a mixed-use project with a focus on residential, “lifestyle” shops and neighborhood businesses, however he did not yet have a detailed development plan. He compared it to Downtown Doral, a well-known shopping and living area built by Codina Partners.

The City of Hialeah is the sixth largest municipality in Florida, serving over 224,000 residents. It has a population growth rate of nearly double the U.S. average. According to a recent report by The Miami Herald, the largest annual rent increases seen in South Florida have been in Hialeah—with rents rising more than 28% over the past 12 months—making the need for added residential units all the more necessary.

“To me, Hialeah is the Brooklyn of Miami—a community in the right place that is filled with unrealized potential,” said Armando Codina, executive chairman of Codina Partners.

 

“We are proud to have been joined in this investment by long-time friends and partners, Jim Carr and Manny Kadre,” said Codina Barlick, chief executive officer of Codina Partners. “and are looking forward to working with Steven Levin and the team at Centennial on redeveloping the site into a community that will redefine and enhance the area.”

Centennial acquired Westland Mall from Starwood Capital in 2021. The shopping center consists of more than 300,000 square feet of retail space that is anchored by Macy’s, JC Penney, and the former Sears site.

“The redevelopment of the site will create a natural synergy between the residential area and the retail, much like the success and synergies achieved at Downtown Doral,” Codina Barlick continued.

 

“The City of Hialeah has had a vision for its growth, and they have allowed us to work alongside them in translating that vision into tangible and impactful enhancements to the community, which have resulted in positive impacts to the local economy. This new transformation along Westland Mall will only serve to compound that growth of commerce and community for generations to come,” said Armando Codina, executive chairman of Codina Partners.