Inside Ken Griffin’s $3B Bet on Miami’s Wynwood

Three years ago, staffers working for billionaire financier Ken Griffin met with Moishe Mana to present him the deal of lifetime: They offered about $800 million for his 35-acre portfolio in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood. 

Surprised, Mana initially rejected the offer. His properties were not for sale, and he envisioned developing his own business and entertainment district. But three days later, the investor relented. 

“Once I understood that this is going to be good for Miami,” Mana explained at a press event Thursday. “It’s completing our vision, not competing. I said, ‘Let’s go.’”

The cash deal, which ultimately ballooned to $1.1 billion, closed this week without any outside debt and partners for Griffin. It marked one of the largest commercial real estate transactions in the country’s history. 

What’s more: Griffin pledged an additional $2 billion to Carnegie Mellon University, bringing his total giving to $3 billion — the largest combined donation to higher education from a private individual. $1 billion of the gift will support the university’s Pittsburgh campus, while $2 billion will support the launch of CMU Miami and includes the value of the real estate. 

The gift will help address one of Miami’s biggest challenges as it seeks to become a global business hub: its lack of top-tier universities, which are crucial to create a pipeline of employable grads for tech and finance companies. 

“If you look at Pittsburgh and the economic renaissance taking place: 250 tech startups, 100 companies focused on robotics,” Griffin said during a public address Thursday. “The future of America is being built in Pittsburgh — that future will be strengthened by what we build in Miami.”

The Wynwood campus is expected to house more than 3,500 undergraduates, master’s, and PhD students as well as nearly 300 faculty members, and more than 600 staff. The main subjects will include computer science, medical research, national security, climate resilience, manufacturing and industrial innovation.

Construction is slated to begin next year, with enrollment for graduate students starting in 2028 and 2032 for undergraduates students. Carnegie Mellon and Griffin’s staffers, who have yet to select a development partner, have tapped ASG to design the master plan, said Paul Darrah, head of real estate at Citadel. 

Staffers will also need to amend the special area plan (SAP) that Mana has had in place since 2017 to include educational uses, said Miami Mayor Eileen Higgins. SAPs are zoning frameworks that allow for master-planned development across contiguous properties across more than 9 acres.

Griffin’s donation cements his role as a generational figure in Miami. In 2022, the mogul relocated the global headquarters of his companies, hedge fund Citadel and market maker Citadel Securities, from Chicago to Miami, becoming a prolific real estate buyer on the residential and commercial front. 

Along the waterfront of Miami’s financial district, Griffin is building a $2.5 billion office skyscraper in partnership with Related Companies. (Construction for the 54-story tower paused earlier this month after four people were hospitalized due to a drill rig collapsing onto the street.)

Israel-born Mana began investing in Wynwood in 2009 when the neighborhood remained largely underdeveloped and was home to warehouses. In recent years, it has become a hotbed of luxury condo developments, high-end restaurants and new offices, including that of e-commerce giant Amazon. 

Mana will remain a presence in the area. In July, the developer purchased the retail building of the popular Pastis bistro for $25 million as part of a 1031 exchange to offset the capital gains taxes from the sale to Griffin. Mana remains the largest landowner in Downtown Miami, where he owns about 80 properties.  

“We still continue the journey downtown,” Mana said. “I’m not done here.”

Julia Echikson can be reached at jechikson@commercialobserver.com.