Dade County Courthouse Sale: No Bids, Two Rival Plans

Nobody has bought the historic Dade County Courthouse at 73 W Flagler Street yet. Miami-Dade's online auction, with a $35.41 million minimum bid, drew no bids at its August 28 deadline and was extended twice, to an October 2 close; by late September GovDeals reported four $100,000 bid deposits but still no bids. No result of the October 2 close had been reported when this was updated on October 13, 2026. Two developers have since pitched the county directly, and the boutique hotel with a penthouse condo that earlier coverage floated was a contractor's suggestion, not a filed plan.

Where the sale stands, as of the latest reports

• The auction: run by GovDeals, opened in late July with a $35.41 million minimum and a $100,000 deposit. No bids at the August 28 or September 18 deadlines; extended to October 2, per Miami Today and The Real Deal.
• Russell Galbut: his GFO Acquisitions earlier offered about $53 million in cash plus another downtown property before commissioners ended those talks and ordered an auction. In late September The Real Deal and the Miami Herald reported a new Galbut proposal to pay the county $35 million, keep the courthouse with restaurants, offices and hotel rooms, and add a 70-story residential tower beside it.
• Moishe Mana: offered $5 million, which he calls a good-faith offer, plus a $30 million to $40 million renovation into a fashion and art hub, with no tower, according to the Miami Herald.

What makes the building hard to sell

The 28-story courthouse was built from 1925 to 1928 and, at 361 feet, was the tallest building in South Florida when it opened. It became a local historic landmark in 1985 and joined the National Register of Historic Places in 1989, and in 2020 the county extended protection to the lobby, atrium and six courtrooms. Those protections rule out demolition and limit how much of the interior can change, which is why every serious pitch so far pairs the old tower with new revenue, either hotel rooms or a new residential tower on the same block. Court operations have moved to the new Osvaldo N. Soto Miami-Dade Justice Center across the street, which opened in 2025.

The downtown condo market a new tower would join

A 70-story residential tower would land in a Downtown market that already has more supply than buyers. Own.Miami's Downtown market report, as of October 13, 2026, counts 923 condos for sale against 368 closings in the last 12 months: 30.1 months of supply, with a median sale of $530,000 and $587 per square foot.

The closest residential comparison is District 225, the 37-story, 343-unit tower at 225 N Miami Avenue developed by The Related Group with ROVR Development and BH Group, about two blocks away, delivered in 2025. Recorded deeds show 345 sales there from October 2025 to September 2026, all but a handful of them first sales from the developer, at a median of $468,900. Its 51 current listings ask a median of $1,115 per square foot, far above the $881 median of its two MLS resales so far.

Older towers nearby trade lower: Centro (2016) recorded 23 deed sales over the same 12 months at a median of $338,000, and Ivy at Riverfront (2008) 23 at a median of $508,000.

Why it matters to an owner nearby

A restored courthouse with restaurants and hotel rooms would put an empty landmark back to use next to several large condo towers. A new 70-story condo tower would add hundreds of units to a Downtown market that already has 30.1 months of supply. Neither plan is approved, so for now the building stays empty.