CI Financial doubles down on U.S. HQ lease at 830 Brickell in Miami

Canadian asset management firm CI Financial is doubling down on its new U.S. headquarters in Miami’s Brickell.

The company boosted its lease to nearly 40,000 square feet on two full floors at the planned 830 Brickell tower that is under construction, according to a news release. CI Financial originally inked a deal in September for roughly 20,000 square feet.

Lease terms and rate were not disclosed.

Toronto-based CI Financial, led by Kurt MacAlpine, is expected to open its Miami office in early 2023, according to Ryan Holtzman of Cushman & Wakefield.

Holtzman and Brian Gale were part of the Cushman team that represented 830 Brickell. Donna Abood and Mark Robbins of Avison Young represented CI Financial in the deal.

Vlad Doronin’s OKO Group and privately held real estate investment firm Cain International are developing the 55-story, 640,000-square-foot 830 Brickell. The tower is slated for completion this year.

OKO Group has offices in New York and the Miami Design District. Cain International, which is a partnership between its CEO, Jonathan Goldstein, and Eldridge, has offices in London, New York and Los Angeles.

CI’s decision to expand is another sign of Miami’s growth as a financial and tech firm mecca, with the influx partly driven by the city’s early economic reopening from the pandemic lockdown.

Also at 830 Brickell, private equity firm Thoma Bravo leased 36,500 square feet in 2021, and tech giant Microsoft inked a deal for a roughly 50,000-square-foot space for its Latin American regional headquarters.

Overall, the tower has signed more than 150,000 square feet of leases in the last six months, according to the release.

Holtzman said talks are ongoing for another couple of hundred thousand square feet, with tenants he described as “household names.”

The demand has pushed up 830 Brickell asking rates to over $100 per square foot, a record for Miami, according to Holtzman.

830 Brickell is the first major, Class A office tower to rise in Miami’s urban core in over a decade.

The Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill-designed tower, with interiors designed by Italian firm Iosa Ghini Associati, will have amenities inspired by five-star hotels, including a rooftop lounge and bar with a restaurant, a wellness and health center, conference space, an outdoor space and street-level retail, according to the release.

Health-conscious features will include ultraviolet technology in air filtration, ventilation and water purification systems, as well as touch-free fixtures and contactless entries and exits.