Authorities paused the construction of Ken Griffin’s $2.5 billion Citadel headquarters site on Brickell Bay Drive to investigate the drill rig collapse last week, the Wall Street Journalreported.
The rig fell on the road during Monday morning traffic on Sept. 14, striking three vehicles and sending four to the hospital with minor injuries.
All construction and operations have ceased at the development site, at 1201 Brickell Bay Drive, pending the completion and acceptance of an investigation and report, Sergio Ascunce, a Miami-Dade County building official, told the newspaper.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the accident. Such investigations can take up to six months but are often completed in less time, a spokesperson for the federal agency told the outlet.
A spokesperson for Griffin expressed gratitude that no one was seriously injured and said Citadel and its partners remain committed to delivering the high-profile project. A spokesperson for Related Companies, the project developer, previously told The Real Deal it is cooperating with the city and county building departments to conduct a full investigation of the incident. Keller, the contractor for the development, said it is prioritizing the safety of its workers and the Brickell community.
The $2.5 billion skyscraper will house Citadel’s future headquarters on a 2.5-acre site, which Griffin bought for $363 million in 2022.
Griffin also plans to pay $3 million to relocate the historic city-owned cottage across the street, which houses the headquarters for Dade Heritage Trust, to Coconut Grove. The billionaire hedge fund titan also acquired all the units at the 22-story Solaris condo across the street, along with the 28-story 1221 Brickell Avenue office building. He nixed previous plans for a hotel in the area but might still develop one nearby, TRD previously reported.
Although major construction incidents are generally rare, the skyscraper boom across the Brickell Financial District has come at a cost, as this isn’t the first construction incident to occur in the area. In 2020, a bundle of rebar fell at the 830 Brickell construction site injuring six workers. Ten years ago, a scaffolding collapse for the construction of the Echo Brickell condo tower left five injured and one dead.
—Eman Elshahawy
Read more
Four injured in drill-rig collapse near Citadel HQ development
Ken Griffin wins city approval to buy historic cottage near Citadel’s HQ for $3M
“Miami’s open for business”: Ken Griffin doubles down on offices at his Brickell supertall
