Two unit owners at Chateau Beach Residences have sued the developer and contractor over delays linked to an explosion at the Sunny Isles Beach luxury condominium tower last year.
The lawsuit was filed earlier this month in Miami Dade Circuit Court by 1103 Chateau Beach LLC and 1003 Chateau Beach LLC (owners of units 1103, 1003) “and all similarly situated unit owners” against Chateau Beach LLC and Coastal Construction of South Florida. The suit seeks unspecified compensation for alleged loss of use of their million dollar-plus condos.
Chateau Beach Residences, a 34-story beachfront condo tower at 17475 Collins Avenue, received its certificate of occupancy in August 2015, according to the suit. In September 2015, the condo units were conveyed to the unit owners.
But on Oct 2, 2015, an explosion occurred on the top floor of the tower, which blew out walls throughout the building.
Chateau explosion (Credit NBC 6)
As a result of the explosion, the city of Sunny Isles Beach revoked the condominium tower’s certificate of occupancy, and the building continued to be “unsafe for occupancy” until June 2016, the suit says.
“This loss of use has [led] to economic damages and special damages,” the suit alleges.
Records show the owners of units 1103 and 1003 each paid $1.25 million for their units in September 2015. The registered agent for both entities is a lawyer.
The Chateau Group, led by Manuel Grosskopf, developers of the project, as well as the soon-to-be-completed Fendi Chateau, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Coastal Construction Vice Chairman Dan Whiteman responded to the suit with a statement, saying Coastal worked closely with Chateau Group, the condominium association and the city of Sunny Isles Beach’s building department to repair the damages and to reopen the building, and with insurers to address their concerns. He said none of the unit owners had yet moved into the building at the time of the blast.
“The insurance companies have made interim payments to all the owners of units which were sold and has resolved many of the units’ owners’ claims fully as of this date,” Whiteman said in the statement. “Coastal through its insurers continues to work to resolve the remaining unit owners’ request for reimbursement arising out of the occurrence.”