Billionaire hedge fund manager Ken Griffin may be tied to a condo takeover attempt in Miami’s Brickell, next to where the Citadel founder plans a bayfront supertall.
Nearly half the units at Solaris at Brickell Bay, a 22-story, 141-unit condo tower at 186 Southeast 12th Terrace, have sold in the past two years to similarly named Delaware LLCs with the same manager, the Wall Street Journal first reported.
Property records show the entities list the same mailing address that belongs to broker Mario Borda, who works on condo buyout deals. Borda and Citadel did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In 2022, Griffin secretly amassed a 4.2-acre Miami assemblage. He spent $670 million on a handful of purchases, led by the $363 million sale of the bayfront lot at 1201 Brickell Bay Drive. In August of this year, his attorney filed plans for the mixed-use tower planned for that lot.
The $1 billion-plus project could include nearly 1.3 million square feet of office space, a 212-room hotel, fine dining restaurants with 915 seats, a 5,239-square-foot health/spa area, open space and more, according to documents submitted to the county. It would have a total of 1.7 million square feet of vertical space. The building would house the future headquarters for Griffin’s Citadel and Citadel Securities. Griffin moved their headquarters from Chicago.
Construction is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2025, a spokesperson confirmed in August.
Solaris, which was developed in 2006 by Harvey Hernandez, sits in between the bayfront property and the office building to the west that Griffin also controls. Solaris includes 138 condo units and three commercial units.
The building’s property manager did not respond to questions about a buyout. The Journal reported that the condo association’s board recently passed a $2 million assessment to repair the pool and garage. That comes out to an average of $14,000 per unit owner, including the commercial unit owners.
Records show Delaware LLCs that may be tied to Griffin made their first purchases in December 2022, starting at just over $500,000. More recently, a unit traded for $750,000. The units owned by the group of LLCs include commercial space.
Solaris’ condo documents state that 80 percent of the owners would have to approve a termination of the condo association. Florida law allows 5 percent of the owners to block the termination, which is why many developers seek a higher percentage of buy-in or support from owners.
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Developers are increasingly attempting buyouts of older condo and co-op buildings, especially those along the waterfront in South Florida, after the deadly Surfside condo collapse in 2021. But buyouts are incredibly challenging and can take years to complete.
Condo terminations are a necessary legal step that developers take so they can ultimately redevelop the property. In this case, if Griffin is the buyer, he could purchase all the units, terminate the condo association and keep the existing building to house future employees or other tenants. Or he could knock the building down to make way for something new.