TIAA-CREF, the Fortune 100 financial services firm with $869 billion in assets under management for teachers, has South Florida in focus.

Deep-pocketed, focused, aggressive and in the market for deals in the $100 million range, it set its sights on flourishing communities like Coral Gables, Miami’s Brickell district, Miami Beach, Fort Lauderdale and western Miami-Dade County.