Monarch Alternative Capital Buys 801 Brickell Office Tower for $250 Million

September 27, 2023

The 801 Brickell office tower in Miami is being purchased by Monarch Alternative Capital and Tourmaline Capital Partners for roughly $250 million.

This 28-story building is anticipated to close in the next week. According to property records, the building was finished in 1984 and has a total square footage of 695,000 square feet, 415,000 of which are offices. The building was purchased in 2002 for $80.3 million by Nuveen, the financial division of the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America, or TIAA. Over 90% of units at 801 Brickell are leased.

Among the tenants are the bank Cassel Salpeter, the investment business Selvatra, and Swiss Re AGroup. The 7,000 square foot office will be opened in the fourth quarter by BNP Paribas Securities Corporation, a division of the European bank BNP Paribas. Komodo, a restaurant owned by Groot Hospitality, has a location at 801 Brickell as well.

Approximately 60% of the purchase price is being financed by 801 Brickell’s buyers.

Apollo Capital Management, Canadian asset management CI Financial, and private equity company Thoma Bravo are three financial institutions that have recently leased space in Brickell. Also relocating from Chicago to Brickell is billionaire Ken Griffin’s Citadel and Citadel Securities.

Since Griffin’s $286.5 million purchase of the structure at 1221 Brickell Avenue in the summer of last year, Monarch and Tourmaline’s acquisition is the largest office transaction in South Florida.

With some asking rentals over $100 per square foot, the number of tenants has driven Brickell rents to all-time highs. The 801 Brickell acquisition is partially a bet on rental growth at the tower because, according to sources, new leases are signing for over $100 per foot, which is significantly more than the rates for existing leases.

According to its website, Tourmaline is an office investment company created in 2021 that has made $3 billion in deals and has 1.4 million square feet under construction. Brandon Huffman is in charge of it.

The Citigroup Center in downtown Miami, located at 201 South Biscayne Boulevard, is likewise a property owned by Monarch and Tourmaline. The 34-story tower also has CP Group, formerly known as Crocker Partners, is listed as a co-owner.