Key Takeaways
- • Miami-Dade County approved a revised safety plan on Oct. 7, 2026, allowing Citadel's Brickell headquarters construction to resume the week of Oct. 12 after a Sept. 14 drill rig collapse.
- • The rig fell onto Brickell Bay Drive during repositioning in wet weather, crushing several vehicles and injuring four people, all of whom survived.
- • The revised plan adds spotters, crane mats, flaggers and resident notifications; the contractor, Keller North America, did not respond to the Miami Herald's requests for comment.
- • OSHA's federal investigation remains open, and the agency has returned the damaged equipment to the contractor.
- • The 52-story office tower anchors Ken Griffin's plan to redevelop an entire Brickell city block, which he assembled since 2022 at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars.
Summary
Citadel has resumed construction of its new global headquarters in Brickell, Miami, roughly a month after a construction accident on Sept. 14 sent four people to the hospital, according to the Miami Herald. Miami-Dade County gave the hedge fund the go-ahead to resume work on the 52-story office tower after reviewing a revised safety plan submitted by the contractor, Keller North America. The plan was approved on Oct. 7 by the county's Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources, and construction restarted the week of Oct. 12. The county had issued a stop-work order immediately after the accident, which could only be lifted once the safety plan was approved.
The incident occurred when a drill rig, used for boring holes in the ground during pre-construction soil preparation, fell onto Brickell Bay Drive. The rig crushed several vehicles, including one with a woman inside who narrowly escaped before the car burst into flames. The three other injured people were construction workers on site. All four were taken to hospital and survived. Sergio Ascunce, assistant director and building official with the county department, told the Miami Herald that the rig fell while being repositioned in wet weather. The current theory is that the machine hit a soft spot in the ground, tilted and fell, with the contractor failing to properly gauge the depth of puddles.
The revised safety plan includes spotters to monitor the area when a rig is moved, crane mats to distribute machine weight and reduce ground failure risk, and flaggers to warn people when equipment is repositioned near streets or sidewalks. Residents of nearby buildings will also be notified when work is occurring close to them. Ascunce indicated it is unclear whether these protocols were in place before the accident. A Keller spokesperson did not respond to the Herald's inquiries.
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration still has an open investigation. According to Ascunce, OSHA has returned the damaged equipment to the contractor, and an agency spokesperson declined to discuss details citing the ongoing probe. Miami-Dade Consumer and Neighborhood Protection also opened an investigation but closed it quickly, since the incident did not involve an existing building.
The Brickell tower is the centerpiece of Griffin's broader plan to redevelop a city block. Griffin, whose estimated net worth is $57.3 billion, began acquiring land in the area in 2022 and now owns a block stretching from Brickell Bay Drive to Brickell Avenue. He has also announced plans for a residential building alongside the office tower. Citadel moved its global headquarters from Chicago to Miami in 2022. Vertical construction had not yet begun at the time of the accident.
The incident occurred when a drill rig, used for boring holes in the ground during pre-construction soil preparation, fell onto Brickell Bay Drive. The rig crushed several vehicles, including one with a woman inside who narrowly escaped before the car burst into flames. The three other injured people were construction workers on site. All four were taken to hospital and survived. Sergio Ascunce, assistant director and building official with the county department, told the Miami Herald that the rig fell while being repositioned in wet weather. The current theory is that the machine hit a soft spot in the ground, tilted and fell, with the contractor failing to properly gauge the depth of puddles.
The revised safety plan includes spotters to monitor the area when a rig is moved, crane mats to distribute machine weight and reduce ground failure risk, and flaggers to warn people when equipment is repositioned near streets or sidewalks. Residents of nearby buildings will also be notified when work is occurring close to them. Ascunce indicated it is unclear whether these protocols were in place before the accident. A Keller spokesperson did not respond to the Herald's inquiries.
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration still has an open investigation. According to Ascunce, OSHA has returned the damaged equipment to the contractor, and an agency spokesperson declined to discuss details citing the ongoing probe. Miami-Dade Consumer and Neighborhood Protection also opened an investigation but closed it quickly, since the incident did not involve an existing building.
The Brickell tower is the centerpiece of Griffin's broader plan to redevelop a city block. Griffin, whose estimated net worth is $57.3 billion, began acquiring land in the area in 2022 and now owns a block stretching from Brickell Bay Drive to Brickell Avenue. He has also announced plans for a residential building alongside the office tower. Citadel moved its global headquarters from Chicago to Miami in 2022. Vertical construction had not yet begun at the time of the accident.
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