The city-owned landmark, home to Dade Heritage Trust, would be sold for $2.98 million — without competitive bidding — to a company controlled by billionaire Ken Griffin, completing his acquisition of an entire Brickell city block.
One of Miami’s oldest and most historically significant buildings — now home to the preservation advocacy group Dade Heritage Trust — could soon leave public ownership and become part of billionaire Ken Griffin’s expanding Brickell real estate holdings.
The Miami City Commission on Thursday will consider selling the city-owned Dr. James M. Jackson office and surgical facility at 190 SE 12 Terrace for $2.98 million to 1250 BB Asset Co. LLC, a company controlled by Griffin, under a City Charter provision that allows the city to bypass competitive bidding when it sells publicly-owned property to an adjacent property owner.
The resolution is sponsored by Miami District 2 Commissioner Damian Pardo.
The 121-year-old cottage is the last remaining property on the block between Brickell Bay Drive and Brickell Avenue that Griffin does not already control.
It sits immediately adjacent to the roughly 2.5-acre waterfront site where Griffin is building a new headquarters for Citadel, the investment firm he relocated from Chicago to Miami in 2022.
The acquisition would not be Griffin’s first involvement with a prominent historic property in Miami.
Griffin, who owns a home in Coconut Grove, is currently seeking city and county approval to relocate Villa Serena, the 1913 waterfront home built for three-time Democratic presidential nominee William Jennings Bryan, from his Brickell waterfront compound to nearby Vizcaya Village.
Read more: Vizcaya Village: A Major Gift and a Major Move
Griffin has pledged a total of $25 million toward that project — $20 million to support the restoration of Vizcaya Village and a separate $5 million endowment to support the long-term preservation of Villa Serena if its relocation is approved.
Under the proposal, Villa Serena would be moved across South Miami Avenue, incorporated into Vizcaya Village and opened to the public. The house would become the property of Miami-Dade County and be maintained by Vizcaya Museum and Gardens.
The proposal has generated debate among local preservationists, some of whom have questioned whether removing Villa Serena from its original waterfront setting would undermine its historical integrity.
The relocation is expected to undergo extensive public review, including consideration by the City of Miami’s Historic and Environmental Preservation Board.
In an email exchange with the Spotlight, a Citadel spokesperson said that while it was premature to release details, the company is “in active discussions with the Dade Heritage Trust and City of Miami about a long-term preservation plan” for Jackson’s medical office.
The modest white wood-frame Jackson building stands in sharp contrast to the surrounding Brickell skyline.
Built in the early 1900s, it served as the office and surgical facility of Dr. James M. Jackson, Miami’s first resident physician and one of the city’s most influential early civic leaders. Jackson Memorial Hospital bears his name.
The building itself has survived decades of redevelopment pressure. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated by the City of Miami’s Historic and Environmental Preservation Board, the property is currently leased to Dade Heritage Trust. Under the proposed agreement, Griffin’s company would assume the existing lease and all landlord responsibilities.
Dade Heritage Trust Executive Director Christine Rupp said the organization expects to announce additional details soon but emphasized that preserving the landmark remains its priority.
“DHT has been the proud steward of the historic Jackson Office since 1978, and the preservation of that building is our focus,” Rupp told the Spotlight in a statement. “We are working through details and do not have specifics to share right now but anticipate making an announcement soon about a good outcome. Our focus remains unchanged.”
The proposed sale would authorize City Manager James Reyes to convey the property for a price equal to the higher of two independent appraisals obtained by the city.
Under the City Charter, the city may sell certain non-waterfront parcels without competitive bidding when they are 7,500 square feet or smaller or otherwise non-buildable and are being conveyed to the owner of an adjoining property. City officials say the Jackson property qualifies for that exemption.
The agenda documents state that the city obtained two independent appraisals and established the $2.98 million purchase price at the higher of the two valuations.
The resolution would also earmark all net proceeds from the sale exclusively for the repair, rehabilitation, maintenance or possible replacement of the aging Brickell Key Bridge which has become a growing infrastructure concern for the city. Officials say it will require significant investment in the coming years.
Pardo did not respond to a detailed list of Spotlight questions about the proposed sale, including preservation of the historic building, the impact on Dade Heritage Trust, and the decision to dedicate the sale proceeds to the Brickell Key Bridge.
The commission records contain one unexplained discrepancy. The proposed resolution identifies the purchaser as 1250 BB Asset Co. LLC, while the agenda summary lists Miami RE Selection LLC as the prospective buyer. The agenda documents do not explain the difference.
As of Tuesday, July 21, 2026, two days before the City Commission meeting on this issue, the on-line agenda has this listed as Exhibit A for this item (PH-3):
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EXHIBIT A
PURCHASE AND SALE AGREEMENT
TO BE DISTRIBUTED PRIOR TO CITY COMMISSION MEETING
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Even if the City Commission has received the Agreement, the public has not had timely access to all the facts prior to the meeting and public hearing. This item should be deferred until after the Purchase and Sale Agreement has been made public, with at least two weeks time to study it before a vote.
Here’s the link to the agenda: https://miamifl.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_Meeting.aspx?ID=4150
Here’s the link to Exhibit A: https://miamifl.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=4&ID=54822&MeetingID=4150
When I moved to Coconut Grove in 2001, I met the caretaker at Villa Serena. He was a furniture restorer named Joe and he had an entire set of old, solid-maple kitchen cabinets stored in the home’s carriage house. I bought the cabinets, Joe restored them, and we put them in our Grove home, which was subsequently demolished after we sold it in 2004. I visited Joe at Villa Serena for many years and came to love and appreciate the house; and when the sisters who owned the property were trying to sell it, I alerted the city about the possibility that the home might be demolished and suggested they make an effort to preserve it. The site of the home is actually essential to its character and moving it across the street would destroy this character completely. Does anyone believe that moving Viscaya across the street would be a good idea? The fact that Villa Serena is on Biscayne Bay is what makes it so spectacular and I fear that Mr. Griffin is one of those people whose focus in life is money, not character, which I fear he is sorely lacking.
Ken Griffin has spent nearly 3000 dollars per square foot of land, to amass his Brickell compound. Yay, Ken! So, our esteemed D2 commissioner, Damian Pardo says, “Well, if you really want the home of Dr. Jackson (you know, the founder of what has become one the largest public hospitals in the USA), we will sell it to you for under 500 dollars a square foot. It’s Watson Island all over again, but we will have the Dade Heritage Trust telling us what a great deal. Maybe I have it wrong, but didn’t the commission (within the last few years) change the law so they could sell non waterfront, city owned land, on less than X square feet? Seems like such a coincidence?!! I know Ken Griffin will do the right thing. He’s a wealthy man with a huge philanthropic heart, but I think D2 is sponsoring a lot of resolutions that sell our city property under the price of the current market. Jackson cottage is being sold for 2.98 million. It’s worth 18 million at Mr. Griffin’s prices. Ask for 9 million, fix the bridge, and get some money for another public good! The voters are watching. This does not help your resurrection tour, Mr. Pardo. Same old, same old.
City logic:
Hmmm, if Penthouses across the County are selling for $50M each, then an island must be worth what? about…..$29M
To Mr Griffin’s credit, in contrast to many locally grown Developers, he’s donated substantial amounts of money to philanthropic causes (and I don’t mean forced public benefits), Let’s hope that if the Jackson cottage is sold, it yields the same dollars/sq foot as the surrounding land, and doesn’t become yet another clearance price sale