Billionaire hedge fund manager Ken Griffin is making waves in Miami's Brickell neighborhood with plans for a new supertall tower at 1201 Brickell Bay Drive. The project, with a proposed height of 1,032 feet and 54 stories, will be a mixed-use development featuring 1.3 million square feet of office space, a 212-room rooftop hotel, fine dining restaurants, a health spa, fitness club, and more.
Designed by Foster + Partners, the 1.7 million square foot supertall tower will serve as the headquarters for Griffin's Citadel and Citadel Securities. Construction of the $1 billion-plus development is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2025, with plans for subsequent phases that include additional office space, residential units, and parking facilities across the street.
After announcing that both Citadel and Citadel securities will move to Miami from Chicago, Citadel was revealed as the buyer of 1201 Brickell Bay Drive after Tibor Hollo’s Florida East Coast Realty sold the 2.5 acre supertall development lot in a $363 million mega-deal in April 2022. Also in April 2022, Griffin acquired the adjacent 1250 Brickell Bay Drive and 1260 Brickell Bay Drive for $20 million, the lots total roughly 6,655 SF. The lots are adjacent to 1221 Brickell Avenue, which an entity tied to Citadel acquired in June 2022 for $286.5 million. The assemblage of properties spanning from 1221 Brickell Avenue to 1250-1260 Brickell Bay Drive is across the street from 1201 Brickell Bay Drive. The price equated to $145 million per acre, $3,340 PSF dirt value.
Ken Griffin’s net-worth is estimated to be about $31 billion and he has been one of the largest luxury property buyers in the world over the past several years. Also in Miami, Griffin has spent years and $170 million acquiring a Star Island assemblage. He made a splash when he acquired 8 Star Island Drive, a teardown built in 1993 on 1.8-acres, for $75 million. The sale set record for single-family home sales in Miami-Dade County at the time, a record Griffin is no stranger breaking. Griffin has also acquired the adjacent 10 Star Island for $25 million and 11 and 12 Star Island Drive in an off-market deal for roughly $37 million and 13 Star Island for $32.5 million. The acquisitions total $170 million. Griffin also set a record when he was revealed as the buyer in the mega-transaction for the four-acre waterfront Adrienne Arsht compound for a staggering $106,875,000.
Renderings via Foster + Partners