Thanks to a wealthy investor with big plans, Wynwood and Flagler Street in downtown Miami are poised for a transformation in coming years. In recent years, Moishe Mana has quietly spent $350 million acquiring dozens of blocks and buildings, though he’s been quiet about his vision for the areas, according to the Miami Herald. 

Seven years ago in Wynwood, Mana bought a 150,000-square-foot free trade zone complex for $5 million, as well as 40 “mostly contiguous” blocks with a price tag that was considerably lower than it would be today. According to the newspaper, a single block in Wynwood is for sale for $45 million. 

Mana also now owns 50 buildings on Flagler Street, the once-glorious main strip through the city’s downtown district that has seen better days. 

So what does he plan to do with his sizable Miami real estate portfolio? Until recently, according to the Herald, the “press-shy” billionaire hadn’t revealed any or many ideas. But Mana — who earned his fortune with an eponymous New York City moving company in the 1980s before leading the effort to transform that city’s now-trendy Meatpacking District as well as a section of Jersey City — recently shed some light on his vision for his Miami properties in an interview with the Herald. 

According to the newspaper, Mana has a vision much grander than ordinary condos or office buildings. He foresees Wynwood — which he refers to as Mana Wynwood — as a trade hub for Asia and Latin America that would elevate the city’s status to that of Hong Kong. In Flagler Street he sees the country’s next Silicon Valley. 

“We are not going to do it ourselves only,” Mana said to the newspaper. “Wynwood is very pluralistic. There is a lot happening already in Miami. You need many horses to pull. We want to be a big horse. Without being presumptuous. Our project will affect the entire city of Miami, and possibly all of South Florida.”

Read more about Mana’s plans at the Miami Herald.