Moishe Mana, the billionaire businessman who owns around 80 properties along downtown’s Flagler Street, wants to buy Miami-Dade’s historic courthouse.
Pedro Portal
pportal@miamiherald.com
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Changing South Florida: Luxury towers, billionaire real estate deals, the addition of educational options like Carnegie Mellon University’s plans in Wynwood.
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Billionaire businessman Moishe Mana submitted plans to the county for a revamped Miami-Dade Courthouse last month. His vision for the 1920s landmark includes art galleries, fashion showrooms and event space.
Mana is offering to buy the courthouse for $5 million, far below the $35 million minimum bid the county has set in its auction for the property. The proposed renovation is part of his larger plan for the Flagler Street corridor, where he owns about 80 properties.
Mana told the Miami Herald in a recent interview that the $5 million is a “good faith” offer for a building that’s more of a “liability” than an asset. He said he would probably put another $30 million to $40 million into renovating the building at 73 W. Flagler St.
The Miami-Dade County Courthouse, completed in 1928, is currently up for auction but so far has received no bids. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com
“The vision is to create it as a cultural hub for fashion and art,” Mana said.
What he doesn’t want for the historic site: developer Russell Galbut’s proposed 70-story residential tower on the steps of the old courthouse.
Under Galbut’s proposal, which would also retain the historic building and bring in restaurants, offices, hotel rooms and bar, the developer would pay the county $35 million.
The old courthouse, which opened in 1928, is designated historic, which protects it from demolition by whoever ends up buying it. The county closed the old courthouse in 2021 and opened a newly built justice center across the street last year.
Mana said he’s offered Galbut, who he considers a friend, other land in the area to build a tower. But he doesn’t think the developer’s proposal is right for the courthouse site, and he doesn’t think the city will approve the plan.
A rendering of how developer Russell Galbut would build a modern residential tower right next to Miami-Dade County’s historic 1928 courthouse, a building that’s been abandoned for a modern replacement across the street. Courtesy GFO Acquisitions
The county put the building up for auction but has struggled to get traction from potential buyers. The deadline to bid has been extended several times. By submitting unsolicited plans, the developers could potentially bypass the auction process, but the developer who gets the deal would still have to negotiate with Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.
The largest private landowner in Miami, Mana owns dozens of properties across downtown, Wynwood and Allapattah. Most of his land downtown is on or near Flagler Street, the neighborhood’s historic main artery. He’s been buying up land in the area for more than a decade.
In that time, Mana hasn’t completed many projects along the downtown corridor. Critics say he’s a land banker or speculator. But he takes issue with this characterization and says his plans to transform the area are genuine. Bureaucratic hurdles and the sheer size of the project are to blame for the slow timeline, he said.
One project he’s gotten started on is about a block away from the courthouse at Museum Tower, an office building Mana owns.
He’s building out offices and co-working space for lawyers who work in the new courthouse. Mana has opened a cafe on the ground floor and plans to open a bar, too. In a building he owns next door to Museum Tower, Mana plans to open a membership club for attorneys.
Mana said he’s focusing on retrofitting and renovating existing buildings in the neighborhood right now, rather than building new. For instance, he’s gutting the 1920s-era Biscayne Building at 19 W. Flagler St. to turn it into a hub for fashion designers.
Mana is not a residential developer and tends to focus on commercial uses, like offices, retail or events, in his projects.
For years, Mana has been the largest private landowner in Wynwood, with more than 45 acres of property. But he recently announced he’s selling Mana Wynwood, the centerpiece of his holdings in the neighborhood, to billionaire hedge fund executive Ken Griffin. Griffin is donating the land to Carnegie Mellon University for the Pittsburgh-based school’s Miami branch.
Now that Mana’s Wynwood footprint has shrunk considerably, he said he’s focusing on downtown’s Flagler Street, an area where many storefronts sit closed and empty. Mana envisions a walkable and vibrant neighborhood, with streetscapes lined with neighborhood restaurants, cafes, galleries and shops.
Miami Herald
Catherine Odom covers real estate for the Miami Herald. She previously interned on the Herald’s government team and has worked as a journalist in Germany and Armenia. She is a graduate of Northwestern University.