Citadel’s Bet On Miami Pays Off As Employees Rush South From Chicago

Employees at Citadel aren’t waiting to be told where the future is headed — they’re already packing for Miami.

Nearly 100% of staffers offered a chance to relocate from Citadel’s Chicago headquarters have chosen to move to either Miami or New York. With about 400 employees already in Miami, that number is expected to climb once the new Citadel tower is delivered, Citadel’s Chief Workplace Officer Paul Darrah said.

“We've seen continued growth and growth of teams and portfolio managers in Miami,” Darrah said at the Urban Land Institute's 2025 Miami Symposium. “We grow teams quickly, so we're positioning ourselves for a very rapid growth.”

Employees are waiting patiently for Citadel’s billion-dollar Miami headquarters for which CEO Ken Griffin unveiled plans in August 2024. Set to rise at 1201 Brickell Bay Drive, the 54-story tower will hold a 212-key luxury hotel and 1.3M SF of office space for thousands of workers.

In the meantime, those already based in Miami are taking up 90K SF in the 830 Brickell tower, the Miami Herald reported.

Darrah expects to fill about a third of the new headquarters by move-in — about five years after construction begins later this year — leaving room to recruit and relocate additional staff. Though Citadel is also developing offices in New York and London, Darrah sees Miami emerging as the top choice among its employees.

“I think the more people that come to Miami and spend a week in Miami, there's a high likelihood that we'll see movement between offices,” Darrah said.

While the tower is designed to anchor Citadel’s new headquarters and attract long-term tenants, the firm also plans to offer flexible incubator space for emerging companies, Darrah said.

“We're looking at a lot of those kinds, not coworking, but enabling firms to come in and land in Miami, have a presence, and then expand growth,” Darrah said.

Darrah left his real estate role at Google to join Citadel last year, bringing with him a strong focus on in-office strategy as a foundation for the hedge fund’s Miami expansion.

Part of the appeal of the role was the opportunity to take on a challenge many organizations still face — creating an environment that draws employees back into the office, Darrah said.

Over the last year, firms have accelerated efforts to bring employees back. Major organizations like Amazon transitioned into 2025 with return-to-office mandates, many requiring up to five days a week. Google has maintained a minimum of three while encouraging in-person work every weekday, the New York Times reported in February.

“I think Google and many other companies are struggling with how to bring people back to the office and policies that are potentially nonexistent or not enforced,” Darrah said. “The challenge for a lot of firms is: How do you create a place right for employees to come in that's not just about the workplace?”

The tower, which Griffin expects to become one of the most iconic buildings in the world, is set to offer fitness, wellness, retail and access to hotel amenities, Darrah said.

Part of that effort, he added, is creating a sense of place in Miami by strengthening ties to the surrounding Brickell neighborhood where about 100 Citadel employees already live.

“We sponsor events to make sure that the employees understand the city that they've now adopted and that they are now calling home,” Darrah said. “I think the office is very similar.”

But the biggest draw might be Miami itself.

“For our people, it's a nice lifestyle,” Darrah said. “It's a great balance for our employees to work hard, and Miami is a city where they actually can have a great lifestyle.”