Billionaire Bets Big On Wall Street South, Will Financial Giants Follow?

Billionaire Ken Griffin, CEO of Citadel, has said that Miami may overtake Manhattan as the heart of the financial markets in the United States, and his plans for a massive luxury development show how much he's helping build that ambition. In 2022, Griffin and his team began buying property along Brickell Avenue and Brickell Bay Drive in the Brickell Financial District. His attorney has filed plans that provide new information about this project.

Citadel was headquartered in Chicago until 2022 when Griffin announced his Miami move and accelerated his real estate purchases throughout South Florida. The complex at 1201 Brickell Bay Drive will house the Citadel hedge fund and Citadel Securities. It will be a mixed-use development with a luxury hotel, retail, restaurants, and high-end residences. The Real Deal reported that Griffin and Citadel spent nearly $670 million acquiring the lots that will be the site of the future project, taking up some of the last available waterfront real estate in the area. 

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The final complex is expected to cost over $1 billion and stand 1,049 feet tall, the height limit for buildings in Miami. Architecture firm Foster + Partners is responsible for designing the new building, which will consist of two interlinked towers. Chicago-based Sterling Bay was initially slated to be the developer of the project, but Griffin ended that agreement last year, and Gattuso Development Partners now has the job.

Griffin's Big Financial Moves

Citadel employees have been moving to Miami over the past two years. Currently, Citadel is located in the Southeast Financial Center building, but the company will also occupy space at 830 Brickell. This is another large tower currently under construction in Miami and is the first trophy office building to be built in the city in nearly a decade. As construction comes to a close, the building was recently refinanced for $565 million. It also boasts Microsoft, AerCap, and CI Financial as tenants and is still leasing space.

There are other signs that Griffin's roots in Florida are deepening. He is also investing in the future of Miami's research and education. In March, he donated $50 million to the University of Miami to fund a new research facility. And in 2022, he spent over $106 million on a mansion in Coconut Grove. The four-acre waterfront property was originally asking $150 million.

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Griffin's Florida ambitions aren't confined to Miami. He is building out a $450-million compound in Palm Beach, a project he has been assembling since 2012. When completed, that project could be the most valuable estate in America. In 2022, he spent $83 million on a mixed-use building on Palm Beach's luxurious Worth Avenue. Griffin refers to the Miami area as Wall Street South, but last year, Palm Beach County put up billboards on New York City streets claiming the title for their area. No matter which area eventually is officially known as Wall Street South, Griffin appears to have his bases covered. 

While Griffin invests in Florida, Citadel isn’t abandoning New York. In May, renderings from Foster + Partners showed plans for a 62-story building that will also be home to Citadel and Citadel Securities. The two companies will be the anchor tenants, occupying at least 850,000 square feet of space. The building will feature a public landscaped plaza and a tower made of fluted glass columns. 

It's too soon to tell if the center of the U.S. financial world will shift to Florida, but Griffin's influence and spending power have many real estate investors considering the city from an entirely new angle. Miami has been best known for fun and frolic, but over the next decade, it may become the place where more of the best financial minds call home.