Apollo Global Management in Talks to Lease 23K SQ at Miami’s 701 Brickell
By Julia Echikson September 16, 2021 12:16 pm
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The Southern corporate migration continues: Private equity giant Apollo Global Management (APO) is hunting down office space in Miami’s Brickell district, Commercial Observer has learned.
Apollo is in active lease negotiations for 23,000 square feet at 701 Brickell, according to a source with knowledge of the company’s plan. While the firm is, in fact, in discussion to lease a full floor, it’s unclear whether Apollo itself will occupy the whole space, the source added.
The deal has yet to close, the source warned, and could still fall apart. A spokesperson for Apollo declined to comment.
Owned by Nuveen Real Estate, the 33-story tower is already home to another high-profile financial firm, hedge fund Point72 Asset Management, which inked a 9,000-square-foot lease in April.
Apollo already has a taste of Miami. The firm is currently in a six-month sublease at the Wells Fargo Center building with 3,500 square feet. It also plans to open an office in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Based in New York, Apollo is one of the largest private equity firms in the country, which, according to the company, manages $455 billion worth of assets. In recent years, the firm faced heat over the ties of its co-founder and CEO, Leon Black, to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who killed himself in August 2019. Black stepped down in January following an independent review, The Wall Street Journal reported.
A wave of financial firms have settled in Miami as the city vies to become the “Wall Street of the South,” thanks to its pro-business mayor, Francis Suarez, and Florida’s favorable tax environment for the wealthy.
Just yesterday, Canadian asset management firm CI Financial announced that it’s setting up its U.S. headquarters at the nearby 830 Brickell development. Last month, investment firm Schonfeld Strategic Advisors inked a 20,000-square-foot deal for a second headquarters at The Dorsey in Wynwood. Millennium Management and Citadel are also eyeing Miami offices.
Julia Echikson can be reached at jechikson@commercialobserver.com.
