![\"Billionaire](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/MIA_101MoisheMana08NEWPPP.JPG\" "\\"Billionaire")
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Billionaire businessman Moishe Mana stands on the rooftop of his downtown office. How owns about 80 properties in the area, mostly on near Flagler Street.<\/p>\n
Pedro Portal<\/p>\n
pportal@miamiherald.com<\/p>\n
READ MORE<\/p>\n
Remaking Miami<\/p>\n
\n Changing South Florida: Luxury towers, billionaire real estate deals, the addition of educational options like Carnegie Mellon University\u2019s plans in Wynwood.\u00a0\n <\/p>\n
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Moishe Mana has an eye for the neglected part of town about to become the new hot neighborhood.<\/p>\n
The billionaire businessman has made a lot of money betting early on the rise of industrial neighborhoods, like Lower Manhattan\u2019s Meatpacking District and Miami\u2019s Wynwood.<\/p>\n
But after the recent mega-sale of much of his Wynwood portfolio to hedge fund executive Ken Griffin, Mana is at a crossroads.<\/p>\n
In an interview this month with the Miami Herald, he said he\u2019s pivoting to downtown, where he owns about 80 properties, mostly along Flagler and adjacent streets. Once Miami\u2019s bustling main drag, Flagler is now mostly quiet and lined with shuttered storefronts.<\/p>\n
But Mana envisions a livelier future for Flagler: a pedestrian-friendly street with shops, galleries and restaurants. He said he wants people to \u201ctake downtown seriously\u201d after years of overlooking it.<\/p>\n
For years, Mana was known as the largest private landowner in Wynwood \u2014 and the whole city of Miami. He began buying land in Wynwood more than 15 years ago, and downtown more than a decade ago. But sitting on vast swaths of land for years and building very little has earned him some criticism.<\/p>\n
Over the years, he\u2019s clashed with local officials and fellow Wynwood business leaders.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, he was forced to sell a parcel back to the county and hand over the proceeds after failing to build a community center he\u2019d promised a decade before. And during a feud with the Wynwood Business Improvement District in 2020, several developers called him out for not building on the land he owned in the neighborhood, and instead operating businesses under temporary use permits.<\/p>\n
Some call him a land hoarder, or a speculator who has cashed in on skyrocketing property values in gentrifying neighborhoods. Mana disputes those characterizations.<\/p>\n
On a recent evening, Mana walked down Flagler Street, pointing out each building he owns \u2014 \u201cmost of them,\u201d he said. He described his plans to renovate each one: a new lobby for the One Flagler office building on the corner of Flagler and Northeast First Avenue, a full restoration for the historic Beaux-Arts style Shoreland Arcade.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a bigger vision,\u201d Mana said of his plans for downtown Miami. \u201cOur project is not about just putting up buildings. The content is more important. The neighborhood of the building is more important.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Mana](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/MIA_107MoisheMana08NEWPPP.JPG\" "\\"MIA_107MoisheMana08NEWPPP.JPG\\"")
Mana Common\u2019s downtown offices are located just off Flagler Street, where Moishe Mana owns around 80 properties. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com How Mana got his start<\/p>\n
A young man walking on Flagler recognized Mana and stopped to shake his hand, congratulating him on the recent billion-dollar sale in Wynwood.<\/p>\n
The 69-year-old Israeli-born businessman cuts a memorable figure. He\u2019s short and slight, with spiky silver hair. That day, he sported a loose-fitting collared shirt with short sleeves, a more relaxed look than the staid suits and ties some developers favor. His wrists were stacked with bracelets, and he wore a chunky, brown beaded necklace and Louis Vuitton loafers.<\/p>\n
Mana splits his time in Miami, Boca Raton and New York. He grew up poor in Tel Aviv and moved to New York as a young man in the 1980s. He began working as a dishwasher and then in construction. He first found success with a moving company, Moishe\u2019s Moving Systems, and later got into the storage business.<\/p>\n
In the 1990s, Mana turned one of his storage facilities in the Meatpacking District into the industrial-chic creative hub Milk Studios. It was one of the first arts destinations in the neighborhood that would later be home to the Whitney Museum of American Art. These days, the trendy Meatpacking District is one of New York\u2019s most expensive neighborhoods.<\/p>\n
In Jersey City, Mana developed the arts venue Mana Contemporary out of old factory and warehouse space. He did the same in Pilsen, a gentrifying neighborhood on Chicago\u2019s Southwest Side.<\/p>\n
Mana told the Herald that working in the storage business was part of what got him interested in the arts. He said he hated seeing art collections stashed in storage and wanted to create places where people could see and interact with art.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what he wants to do with Miami-Dade\u2019s historic downtown courthouse, too<\/a>. And he\u2019s willing to spend likely more than $35 million to do it. He doesn\u2019t own the building, which the county recently put up for auction, but he wants to buy it and turn it into a cultural hub.<\/p>\n Mana submitted plans to Miami-Dade in September to buy the 1920s landmark for $5 million, significantly below the county\u2019s minimum bid of $35 million. The offer is just a show of \u201cgood faith,\u201d he said, and he\u2019d probably put another $30 million to $40 million into rehabbing the courthouse building.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is part of creating the bigger vision,\u201d Mana said. \u201cSooner or later, I know we\u2019ll make money from it. I\u2019m not worried about it. It will come together.\u201d<\/p>\n How Mana changed Wynwood<\/p>\n Though Mana\u2019s personal fortune was already considerable before the billion-dollar sale in Wynwood, he told the Herald that the recent payday gives him \u201cmore flexibility\u201d to invest in his development projects, even ones that may not immediately turn a profit.<\/p>\n Mana takes a longer view in many of his investments, often buying land without using financing, so he’s not under pressure to build right away and pay back a loan.<\/p>\n Starting in 2009, before Wynwood\u2019s development boom started, Mana began building his portfolio in the neighborhood. That\u2019s around the time he began pivoting from New York, where he began his career, to Miami, which he saw as an emerging global city connecting the U.S. to Latin America and beyond.<\/p>\n As the once-industrial Wynwood transformed, Mana bought up around 45 acres in the neighborhood. Mana said he thinks Wynwood, which is now known for its vibrant murals and arts scene, has become \u201cthe coolest neighborhood in America.\u201d<\/p>\n And his acquisitions in Wynwood have proved lucrative. Mana reportedly paid around $70 million over the years to assemble Mana Wynwood, a 30-acre event venue developed out of a collection of warehouses. He sold the venue last month to Griffin for a whopping $1.1 billion.<\/p>\n The Citadel CEO is donating the land to Carnegie Mellon University<\/a> for its new Miami campus.<\/p>\n Mana retained about 15 acres in Wynwood after the sale, and he told the Herald he plans to build two office buildings on some of that land. But otherwise, he said he\u2019s stepping away from Wynwood.<\/p>\n Mana said he\u2019s \u201cexcited\u201d about the site\u2019s future as a college campus and is \u201crelieved\u201d to have sold it, adding that he thinks it\u2019s in \u201cbetter hands\u201d with Griffin, a man whom he characterizes as wealthier and more influential. While Mana is a billionaire in his own right, his wealth pales compared to Griffin\u2019s nearly $60 billion fortune.<\/p>\n But Mana has enough money that he\u2019s not shy about pouring millions into his projects. He estimates he\u2019s invested $600 million in the Flagler Street area so far.<\/p>\n What\u2019s next for downtown Miami?<\/p>\n But his history of buying land, announcing grand plans for it and ultimately selling it leaves some questions about downtown\u2019s future. After years of acquiring real estate downtown and in Wynwood, he hasn\u2019t built much in either neighborhood.<\/p>\n Kobi Karp, a Miami architect who described Mana as a friend, said he doesn\u2019t expect Mana to fully redevelop Flagler, but rather to eventually sell his massive downtown portfolio to another developer.<\/p>\n What Mana did develop was Mana Wynwood, which operated as an event venue for more than a decade, hosting events like the alternative music festival III Points<\/a>. But Mana always said he had bigger plans for the site. He wanted to turn it into a massive international trade and entertainment complex with hotels, offices and event space.<\/p>\n Mana won approval from the city for a 10 million-square-foot mixed-use special area plan in 2016. But in the decade since, the project languished. After several false starts, Mana never got underway on the development that would have replaced the venue currently on the site.<\/p>\n But Mana said those plans were still on the table when Griffin\u2019s team approached him about buying Mana Wynwood about three years ago. That\u2019s why he initially refused the offer and spent three days weighing the billion-dollar deal before agreeing to it, he said.<\/p>\n In Miami\u2019s real estate community, some say Mana has more of a gift for seeing an area\u2019s potential than for building or developing.<\/p>\n Karp, who has worked with Mana on projects like Mana Wynwood, said Mana has a \u201cgood heart and good mind\u201d and has called him a \u201cvisionary in his own right.\u201d He doesn\u2019t consider Mana a developer, but rather a \u201cland assembler.\u201d<\/p>\n Mana creates value for a future developer by putting together large assemblages and leaving them largely undeveloped, Karp said. Often, neighborhoods can become fragmented, with small parcels owned and developed piecemeal by different people. But a land assembler can make it easier for a developer to come in and execute a unified plan for the area.<\/p>\n It\u2019s why Carnegie Mellon will have more than 30 acres in the heart of Wynwood for its new campus. And while some criticized Mana over the years for holding onto that land and not building, Karp said he thinks people now get why he did it.<\/p>\n \u201cIt takes a while to assemble the little parcels of land, but once you\u2019re able to assemble them, the people can understand,\u201d Karp said. \u201cNow he\u2019s a hero.\u201d<\/p>\n Karp said he\u2019s working with Mana on a project in Allapattah, but he declined to give details. Although Mana\u2019s real estate portfolio in Wynwood and downtown gets more attention, he has also been buying up land in Allapattah, a working-class neighborhood just west of Wynwood.<\/p>\n Mana generally doesn\u2019t build residential, and he tends to focus on renovating and repurposing old buildings, rather than building new. But he has always said his real estate investment strategy is more than simply banking land and waiting to sell to the highest bidder.<\/p>\n Mana said his plans to redevelop Flagler Street are genuine \u2014 and getting underway. He\u2019s spent nearly a decade working with the city to repave Flagler Street, which was a multimillion-dollar effort that he said got bogged down in city bureaucracy.<\/p>\n Now, a multi-block stretch of Flagler\u2019s sidewalks are smooth and uniform, and the street has been resurfaced with new pavers. It was one of the first steps of many toward realizing his vision for the area, Mana said.<\/p>\n A few signs of life have begun to peek through on Flagler. Several trendy bars and restaurants have opened on the street in recent years, including popular Florida-themed bar Over Under, recently opened Vietnamese spot Pho Nam and Fratesi\u2019s Pizza, which draws crowds for its thin-crust pizza.<\/p>\n Mana doesn\u2019t own the buildings where the restaurants are, but he said they are the kind of places he wants to bring to the neighborhood. He also wants to bring in more galleries, like gallerist Aura Copeland\u2019s, which operates in a building he owns on Flagler.<\/p>\n Right now, Mana is renovating several buildings along the corridor. One, the historic Biscayne Building, is being remodeled into what Mana said will be a building focused on fashion with showrooms and a ground-floor restaurant.<\/p>\n Nearby, Mana is remodeling an office building that will become the Nikola Tesla Innovation Hub, which will have office space for tech companies. Mana said the Serbian inventor and futurist is an inspiration of his. He broke ground on the project in 2021, and it\u2019s now nearing completion.<\/p>\n And in an office building near the county courthouse, Mana is making over existing legal offices and has plans to open a membership club for attorneys next door. He also brought a cafe to the ground floor and plans to open a bar.<\/p>\n He said he thinks these projects will bring a new \u201clifestyle\u201d that will help transform the city core. But downtown\u2019s transformation has been slow-going so far.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople here very impatient sometimes because they want to see buildings,\u201d Mana said. \u201cI\u2019m not here to put buildings. I\u2019m here to put a whole neighborhood, so we need to curate it. We need to be careful what we\u2019re doing because once you put something up, you cannot take it down.\u201d<\/p>\n As the sun set on a recent weekday evening, few people were walking on Flagler Street. An orange-shirted ambassador from the Downtown Development Authority recognized Mana and came over to shake his hand.<\/p>\n Five years from now, Mana insists this area will look completely different. And to the critics who ask why his vision, more than a decade in the making, is taking so long, he says: \u201cWait for the results.\u201d<\/p>\n Miami Herald staff writer Shirsho Dasgupta contributed to this report.<\/p>\n![\"Miami-Dade\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/MIA_112CourtHouseAuctnNEWPPP.JPG\" "\\"MIA_112CourtHouseAuctnNEWPPP.JPG\\"")
Miami-Dade\u2019s historic downtown courthouse building is up for sale and Moishe Mana wants to buy it. His plan is to renovate it and turn it into a cultural hub. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n![\"Renderings](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_5th_Avenue-Wynwood-2_3_1_L7QP3UAV_L912927873.JPG\" "\\"IMG_5th_Avenue-Wynwood-2_3_1_L7QP3UAV_L912927873.JPG\\"")
Renderings show the office buildings Moishe Mana plans to build on some of his remaining property in Wynwood. RD+A Studio <\/p>\n![\"Mana](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/MIA_2026-10-04AD0027EVERGREENARTManaWynwood.JPG\" "\\"MIA_2026-10-04AD0027EVERGREENARTManaWynwood.JPG\\"")
Mana Wynwood, a 30-acre event venue, was the centerpiece of Mana\u2019s Wynwood portfolio until he sold it last month. The site will become Carnegie Mellon University\u2019s new Miami campus. PHOTO BY AL DIAZ adiaz@miamiherald.com Putting together the land<\/p>\n![\"Billionaire](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/MIA_103MoisheMana08NEWPPP.JPG\" "\\"MIA_103MoisheMana08NEWPPP.JPG\\"")
Billionaire real estate developer Moishe Mana stood in front of a mural of Nikola Tesla on the exterior of his Nikola Tesla Innovation Hub, a 13-story tech and office development. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n![\"Billionaire](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/MIA_110MoisheMana08NEWPPP.JPG\" "\\"MIA_110MoisheMana08NEWPPP.JPG\\"")
Billionaire real estate developer Moishe Mana greets Rose Lebron, one of the Downtown Development Authority\u2019s downtown ambassadors, as he walks along Flagler Street. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n