Miami-Dade Courthouse Auction Draws No Bids: What's Next

Miami-Dade County's online auction of the historic courthouse at 73 West Flagler Street has repeatedly closed without a bid. The sale opened on the GovDeals platform in late July 2026 with a minimum bid of $35.41 million, and the county extended the deadline after no bids arrived, first from late August to September 18 and then to October 2; by late September four bidders had posted deposits, but none had bid, Miami Today reported. As of mid-October 2026 we have found no report of a winning bid. For Downtown condo owners, what matters is what eventually replaces the vacant tower: the last serious plan paired the restored courthouse with a new residential tower.

Why the courthouse is for sale

The neoclassical courthouse opened in 1928 and has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1989. Reports put it at 27 or 28 stories. The county evacuated it in 2021, after the Surfside collapse, when an inspection found a badly corroded column, and court operations have since moved to the new Osvaldo N. Soto Miami-Dade Justice Center across the street at 20 NW First Avenue.

When the county first offered the property in 2024 it required the buyer to keep the historic structure, according to WLRN, and changes to the landmark need approval from the county's historic preservation board, according to Commercial Observer. A winning auction bid is not a closed sale: the county commission still has to approve the deal.

The plan that came before the auction

In the county's first sale attempt, in 2024, GFO Investments, led by Russell Galbut, was the only bidder, at the $52.3 million minimum, according to WLRN and Commercial Observer. Its April 2025 proposal restored the courthouse for hospitality, retail and cultural uses and added a new tower on the north side of the block, with condominiums and rental apartments, according to Commercial Observer; WLRN described it as a luxury residential tower about twice the courthouse's size. County commissioners later ended those negotiations and sent the property to public auction, Miami Today reported. The auction minimum, $35.41 million, is about a third lower than GFO's bid.

What it means for nearby condo owners

A restored courthouse with a new residential tower would add both an amenity and new competing supply to the blocks around Flagler Street. Downtown already has a lot of supply. Own.Miami's market data, as of October 13, 2026:

• 923 condos for sale against 368 sales in the last 12 months, about 30.1 months of supply.
• A median closing price of $587 per square foot over those 12 months.

Nearby, Centro at 151 SE 1st Street has 24 units for sale and about 13.7 months of supply. District 225 at 225 North Miami Avenue, completed in 2025, has 46 units for sale against 2 closed sales in the last 12 months. Loft Downtown II shows about 16 months of supply.

Until a buyer is approved, the block stays a vacant landmark. Owners near Flagler Street should watch the county commission agenda: that vote, not the auction close, decides what gets built.