Billionaire hedge fund manager Ken Griffin’s rumored $700 million purchase of Mana Wynwood is not true, Mana and a Citadel spokesperson told The Real Deal.
Griffin was said to be in talks with Mana, Wynwood’s largest landowner, in recent months, sources previously told TRD. The rumors reached a head on Sunday, when Miami news and culture Instagram account World Red Eye posted that talks are ongoing, but both buyer and seller pushed back on that.
The social media post stated that Griffin planned a “college-style campus to the Wynwood site.” Mana Wynwood, at 318 Northwest 23rd Street, is a 30-acre property home to the developer’s convention center, where TRD hosts its annual Miami Real Estate Forum.
“We are not in talks with Mana about a deal,” Griffin’s spokesperson said.
Mana confirmed the same and said his convention center is open for business.
“There is no deal. If there is a deal, we would announce it,” said Mana.
Last week, Griffin bought the 545Wyn office building at 545 Northwest 26th Street in Wynwood from Chicago-based Sterling Bay for more than $180 million. Goldman Properties and Griffin teamed up on the purchase.
Griffin is one of Miami’s most high-profile billionaires. In 2022, he moved his companies, Citadel and Citadel Securities, to Miami from New York. He plans to build a bayfront supertall office tower in the Brickell Financial District, which will house the headquarters for both firms. Griffin is partnering with New York-based Related Companies on the tower, which will include a hotel.
Mana has been assembling land in Wynwood and the Flagler District of downtown Miami for more than a decade. Last summer, he secured a $150 million refinancing for his expansive property portfolio in Wynwood. The loan covers 56 properties surrounding his Mana Wynwood Convention Center.