Topline
City commissioners in Miami will allow billionaire Citadel CEO Ken Griffin to purchase a plot of land in Miami’s Brickell neighborhood for $2.98 million, across the street from the site of his planned Citadel headquarters—the last plot on a block of properties he also owns.
Key Facts
In a unanimous vote on Thursday, Miami’s city commissioners approved the sale of the site at 190 Southeast 12th Terrace—just across the street from Citadel’s planned Miami headquarters.
The city owns the land, but a historic 121-year-old cottage—the original office of Dr. James Jackson, Miami’s first physician—sits on the plot, which houses the headquarters of the Dade Heritage Trust.
In a separate deal, Griffin also agreed to fund the preservation and relocation of the cottage, The Real Deal first reported earlier this week, although that move still needs approval from Miami’s Historic and Environmental Preservation Board.
Griffin has been buying up properties in the heart of Miami’s Brickell neighborhood since he announced his hedge fund would relocate to the city, with the Miami Herald estimating he has spent $700 million on properties in the area since 2022.
Surprising Fact
The Dade Heritage Trust is supporting the deal to move its headquarters off the plot of land in Brickell, the organization’s executive director Christine Rupp told Forbes. “We know it’s going to be a good outcome for our historic headquarters,” Rupp said, calling the sale an “amazing opportunity to own our building and own the land,” since the cottage and the land underneath are owned by the city. “Mr Griffin’s company is funding the move of our office, they’re also purchasing the lot,” Rupp said, but couldn’t disclose where exactly the cottage would be relocated to since the location hasn’t been finalized. “The Dr. Jackson Medical Office is a tangible link to Miami’s earliest days as a growing city with a frontier spirit,” David Millar, a spokesperson for Citadel, told Forbes in a statement. “We are proud to help secure its future in Coconut Grove, where it can continue to connect new generations with the people, places, and stories that helped shape Miami.”
Forbes Valuation
We estimate Ken Griffin’s net worth at $52.2 billion, making him the 35th-wealthiest person in the world as of Thursday. He is the founder and CEO of Citadel, the hedge fund he founded in 1990 that now manages an estimated $68 billion in assets.
Key Background
Griffin founded Citadel in Chicago, but announced the company would relocate to Florida in 2022 after he personally moved to the state. Since the announcement, Griffin has bought up real estate near his planned Miami headquarters, including paying an estimated $125 million to purchase every condo in a nearby residential tower, Bloomberg reported earlier this month. The billionaire also spent a reported $106.9 million for a mansion in Miami’s Coconut Grove—where he funded a $20 million effort to move a historic property once owned by William Jennings Bryan.