Five years ago, when he was buying luxury residences to show his soon-to-be-ex-wife what she’d be missing, Ken Griffin dropped $60 million on a couple of penthouses in Miami Beach’s allegedly fanciest building, presumably because he could, as it’s unclear he ever set foot in them before relisting them a year later to no avail.
Since then, Griffin’s appetite for residential living space has only grown, and with Citadel Miami in the offing, 21 acres and counting in Palm Beach and 12,000 square feet at Faena House simply were not going to cut it, especially since the latter turned out to be a real dump. All of Star Island, on the other hand, might just fit the bill. So while he methodically works to dispossess the owners of the other 41 plots on Star—should we just start calling it Citadel Island now?—he feels secure enough in his future there to rid himself of the penthouses four miles away before things get worse there.
Griffin sold his larger penthouse for $35 million and is in contract to sell his second penthouse, which is on the market for $12.5 million…. Even if Griffin, the founder and CEO of his Chicago-based hedge fund Citadel, sold the second penthouse at asking price, he would still sell the units at a loss of at least $12.5 million….
In September, the condo association sued the developer, general contractor and subcontractors for a laundry list of alleged construction defects at the 17-story building, including a broken elevator in the penthouse, missing art, cracking in the concrete and chalky paint.
Some owners at Faena House, including Griffin, also have opposed the planned development of a 250-foot tall tower next door….
Billionaire Ken Griffin parting with Faena House penthouses in Miami Beach at a loss [TheRealDeal]
