Citadel, the Miami-based hedge fund headed by Ken Griffin, is asking the Federal Aviation Administration for approval to use what's expected to be the tallest construction cranes in Florida's history in the latest sign the firm is proceeding with plans for a supertall tower for its new headquarters.
Plans for Citadel’s headquarters in Miami's financial district include a 1,040-foot-tall building at 1201 Brickell Bay Dr. The FAA applications call for three cranes — two to rise 1,298 feet and a third to 1,297 feet, according to public documents.
The applications show Citadel is on track for a planned groundbreaking this year, outlining an 18-month time frame for using the cranes, starting in October and ending in April 2027. Citadel is represented by Virginia-based aviation consultant Capitol Airspace Group in the application; a representative for Citadel didn't respond to an email request from CoStar News for a comment.
Citadel made waves when its billionaire founder and CEO, Ken Griffin, announced in 2022 that the $66 billion hedge fund would be relocating its headquarters to Miami from Chicago. The move immediately boosted Miami's credibility for its moniker "Wall Street South’" as the city and the rest of South Florida continued to land investments from big-name financial institutions in the aftermath of the pandemic.
“Miami is unequivocally one of the great up-and-coming cities, not just in Florida, not just in America, but in the world. It’s nice to be in a city where people are optimistic about the future,” said Griffin in a recent interview for Bloomberg's television show, "Bullish."
Plans for Citadel’s 1.7-million-square-foot headquarters include 1.2 million square feet set aside for offices, including Citadel’s and other financial and legal firms, Griffin told Bloomberg.
"Law firms, private equity, Citadel. Not just us ... Wall Street South," Griffin said, adding the new tower would be “one of the greatest office buildings built in the world.”
Plans also include a hotel on the top floors with 212 rooms, and open spaces at the base of the building with a public waterfront terrace.
If Citadel gets all the approvals it needs to start construction, the tower would be the second supertall — a label that applies to buildings ascending more than 987 feet — under construction in Miami. Less than a mile north across the Miami River, construction on the Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Residences is expected to hit the 30th floor this month on its way to reaching 1,049 feet high, making it the city's first supertall.
When the FAA applications for the Waldorf Astoria project were filed in October 2024, they outlined two cranes with the tallest one rising to 1,238 feet — about 60 feet shorter than Citadel's tallest crane, according to the FAA.
But while the Citadel and Waldorf Astoria supertall projects are moving forward, other similar developments in South Florida have met with different fates.
Earlier this year, Swire Properties canceled plans for a nearly 1,000-foot-tall office tower called One Brickell City Centre, citing a lack of preleasing activity.