Candela Maceda | Assistant News Director
FIU showcased an architectural 3D model of the $40 million building that will provide a space for CasaCuba, a cultural and academic center displaying Cuban and Cuban-American heritage.
The 43,000-square-foot Benjamin León Jr. Building, located on FIU’s main campus, MMC Campus in West Miami-Dade, promises to serve as a hub for research, education, and collaboration, fostering unity among students, visitors, and the diverse South Community.
The building is named in honor of Benjamín León Jr., founder of Miami’s Leon Medical Centers. This will be the second facility at FIU named after León Jr., following the Benjamin León Center for Geriatric Research and Education, established in 2008.
The space will exhibit the largest collection of Cuban music outside the island, which includes the Diaz-Ayala Cuban and Latin American Popular Music Collection, and the unparalleled Henrique Hurtado de Mendoza Collection of Cuban Genealogy and, the Darlene M. and Jorge M. Perez Collection. It will feature galleries and exhibition spaces, classrooms, performances, and state-of-the-art events venues blending American and Cuban elements.
HKS Architects is designing the building, which is estimated to cost $40 million, of which $30 million has been raised, and construction will be carried out by the company Thornton Construction. Inspired by the tropical landscape of Cuba and South Florida, the design combines indoor and outdoor spaces, evoking the warm and sunny climates characteristic of these areas.
Construction on the building is scheduled to begin later this year with a grand opening in 2027. Anyone who contributes at least $500 before construction begins will be considered a founding donor.
CasaCuba’s construction will be entirely funded by donations. Contributors to the fundraising campaign include the landmark $10 million gift from Benjamín León Jr., the Knight Foundation who donated around $4 million, as well as support from CasaCuba board chair Mario Murgado of Murgado Automotive Group and billionaire businessman Jorge Mas, both essential to the project’s advancement.
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