Ken Griffin Wants to Buy Historic Miami House Near Citadel HQ

Billionaire Citadel founder and CEO Ken Griffin could scoop up one of Brickell’s oldest buildings, which sits across from the hedge fund’s future headquarters and is the only missing piece of his full city block.

Miami city commissioners next week will consider selling a city-owned white wood-frame cottage for $2.98 million to an LLC affiliated with Griffin. The building is leased to the Dade Heritage Trust,

The former home at 190 Southeast 12th Terrace, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, previously served as the office and surgical center of Dr. James M. Jackson — who became Miami’s first resident physician after arriving in 1896.

The property was built in 1905, according to Historic Preservation Miami records, and the lot comprises 6,000 square feet while the cottage spans 1,800 square feet, property records show.

According to city documents, Dade Heritage Trust signed the lease in 2022, and as a condition of the sale, Griffin would agree to purchase the property subject to the existing lease and assume all landlord obligations after closing.

In 2021, the city commission approved a 10-year lease with a five-year renewal option for Dade Heritage Trust, scaling back city administrators’ original proposal for a 90-year lease, the Miami Herald reported.

The historic building is the missing piece on Griffin’s Brickell Monopoly board.

Griffin bought up all the units of the 22-story Solaris condo next to the cottage, which he plans to demolish for future development. At the time, Bloomberg reported that buyout put him just one property away from conquering the entire block.

A spokesperson for Citadel did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This year, Griffin revised his proposal for the 54-story, 1.7 million square-foot-office building at 1201 Brickell Bay Drive, adding a 300-unit apartment building and 1,420-space parking garage next to another office building he owns. The development will serve as headquarters for Citadel and Citadel Securities.

Griffin nixed a hotel planned for the supertall tower to make way for more office space, The Real Deal previously reported. He is still considering building a hotel across from the supertall.

The skyscraper will sit on a 2.5-acre site, which Griffin bought for $363 million in 2022. Related Companies is partnering with him on the project.

City commissioners approved Griffin’s massive private megayacht marina at 120 MacArthur Causeway a few months ago, but Griffin recently submitted a request for a private, waterfront helipad at his sprawling Terminal Island development.

The billionaire hedge fund founder and his company moved to Miami from Chicago in 2022. He has since spent over $1 billion acquiring waterfront estates, commercial developments and land from Miami to Palm Beach.