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South Florida

Marquis Miami condo owners accuse developers of poor construction

Marquis Miami (Credit: Marc Averette) and Shaya Boymelgreen
Marquis Miami (Credit: Marc Averette) and Shaya Boymelgreen

The New York-based developers of downtown Miami’s Marquis Miami residences are being accused of building a poorly constructed tower in a new lawsuit.

And now, the Marquis Miami Condominium Association wants a partnership between Shaya Boymelgreen and Lev Leviev, as well as the construction companies they hired, to foot the bill for an array of repairs throughout the building including common areas and individual units.

In lawsuit filed in Miami-Dade Circuit Court last month, the condo association is seeking unspecified damages against Boymelgreen and Leviev, general contractor KM/Plaza and two affiliated companies, and six subcontractors for allegations of breach of contract, negligence, and violations of Florida’s building code.

Attempts to reach Boymelgreen and Leviev were unsuccessful. Phone numbers listed for their development company, Marquis Developers, are disconnected and an email address for Boymelgreen no longer works. Marquis condo association lawyers declined comment to The Real Deal.

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KM/Plaza President Brad Meltzer declined comment because his company had not been served with the lawsuit. “Should KM/Plaza be served with a new lawsuit, it will respond to any alleged claims in that lawsuit at that time,” Meltzer told TRD via email.

Located at 1100 Biscayne Boulevard, Marquis Miami is a 67-story luxury condominium once home to former Miami Heat player Mario Chalmers. When it was first announced in 2011, prices for the 292 units started at $590,000 for a 1,477-square-foot two-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath residence. A duplex penthouse was listed for $2.2 million.

According to the lawsuit, the condo association discovered construction defects not visible to the human eye after Boymelgreen and Leviev relinquished control of the building. The defects were found in the roof, structural components, post-tension cable assemblies, the plumbing, and the fire and life-safety system, among others. The complaint also alleges subcontractors installed incompatible pipes in the sprinkler system that over time will degrade and fail.

Boymelgreen and Leviev are no strangers to controversy. Earlier this year, the duo reached a settlement with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman regarding an investigation into three Boymelgreen and Leviev condo projects in the Financial District and DUMBO. The attorney general’s probe determined Boymelgreen and Leviev built shoddy structures, falsified documents to get approval from code inspectors and stole condo buyers’ money, among other alleged crimes.

Last month, Schneiderman settled another investigation into Boymelgreen regarding unfinished work at six of his projects in Brooklyn and Manhattan and his refusal to fix construction defects. Under the terms of the settlement, Boymelgreen agreed to fix the construction problems and take care of building violations. He’s also banned from selling condos in New York for two years.