Miami-Dade Still Can't Sell the Old Flagler Street Courthouse

Updated in October 2026 with the auction's later extensions and the offers made since. Miami-Dade County still has not found a buyer for its historic courthouse at 73 W Flagler Street. The online auction opened in late July 2026 with a minimum bid of $35.41 million. Its closing date moved from Aug. 28 to Sept. 18, then to Oct. 2 and, The Real Deal reported, to Oct. 25. By late September it had four $100,000 bid deposits but no bids, Miami Today reported. In early October, Moishe Mana offered $5 million outside the auction, the Miami Herald reported.

What is for sale

The 28-story courthouse has about 265,000 square feet and occupies a full Downtown city block. It was completed in 1928 and is on the National Register of Historic Places, so it cannot be demolished. The county closed it in 2021 over safety concerns. Court operations now sit across the street at the new Osvaldo N. Soto Miami-Dade Justice Center, 20 NW First Avenue.

Keeping an empty landmark is expensive. The Real Deal reported that maintenance and repairs cost the county about $32 million over seven years.

Two visions on the table

A residential tower. Before the auction, the county negotiated with GFO Acquisitions, the company of developer Russell Galbut. His plan kept the historic building and added a 70-story residential tower. Commissioners ended those talks and ordered a public sale instead. In late September, The Real Deal reported that Galbut was back with a new proposal of about $35 million that keeps the 70-story tower plan.

A cultural building. Moishe Mana owns about 80 properties along the Flagler Street corridor. He offered $5 million for the building, which he called a liability, the Miami Herald reported. He wants galleries, fashion showrooms and event space, and estimates another $30 million to $40 million for renovations. An unsolicited offer like his would still have to be negotiated with the county.

What it means for Downtown condo owners

New supply is what matters to condo owners. The Galbut plan would add a 70-story residential tower to a Downtown that already has plenty of condos for sale. Downtown had 923 active condo listings on October 13, 2026, against 392 sales in the past 12 months. That is about 28 months of supply. Our Market Index reads 24, a buyer's market. A cultural reuse would add foot traffic to Flagler without adding competing units.

Newer buildings ask more, older ones trade lower. The closest condo tower to the courthouse is District 225 at 225 N Miami Ave, finished in 2025, about 0.2 miles away. Its 46 listings ask a median of $1,110 per square foot. Older towers a few blocks east sell for much less:

• Centro (2016): 21 sales in the last 12 months at a median of $594 per square foot, with a Building Score of 74.
• Loft Downtown II (2007): 15 sales at a median of $445 per square foot.

Downtown's median sale over the same period was $587 per square foot.

What to watch. The next useful signal is whether the county accepts a bid or opens talks on an unsolicited offer, and whether any plan includes new residential units. Either would change the picture for the blocks between Flagler Street and the Miami River.