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Biscayne Beach’s neighbors sue over debris-related damage during construction
Bayside Terrace's condo association alleges property and parked vehicles sustained "direct physical loss"
Around the same time Biscayne Beach in Edgewater received its temporary certificate of occupancy earlier this month, owners in a neighboring building took its developers to court.
In a May 11 lawsuit filed in Miami-Dade Circuit Court, the condominium association for Bayside Terrace at 505 Northeast 30th Street accuses Biscayne Miami Partners, along with Plaza Construction Group Florida and Baker Concrete Construction, of damaging the building’s exterior, landscaping around the property, and cars belonging to residents with construction debris.
Biscayne Miami Partners is owned by New York-based GTIS Partners and Reid Boren, managing partner for West Palm Beach-based Two Roads Development. The two companies teamed up to build Biscayne Beach, a 391-unit, 52-story condo tower at 2900 Northeast 7th Avenue. Tadd Schwartz, a spokesman for Two Roads, said the company does not comment on pending litigation. GTIS executives did not respond to a request for comment.
Odelsa Flores-Dickman, Bayside Terrace’s condo association’s attorney, told The Real Deal it is too early to comment on the allegations in the lawsuit. “We tried very hard to resolve the issues, but unfortunately we had to resort to litigation,” Flores-Dickman said.
The condo association claims Biscayne Miami, Plaza and Baker were negligent during the construction of Biscayne Beach by not taking adequate measures to ensure debris and other construction materials did not fall on Bayside Terrace, a 36-story building completed in 1970.
Bayside Terrace “was sprayed by concrete that escaped the Biscayne Beach construction [site],” the lawsuit alleges. As a result, the property and parked vehicles sustained “direct physical loss.”
“Additionally, there was overspray from stucco, paint and permanent construction debris on the plaintiff’s property,” the lawsuit states. “It was reasonably foreseeable that during the construction process, concrete overspray could damage plaintiff’s property due to the proximity and location.”
Biscayne Miami, Plaza and Baker failed to properly direct and supervise workmen, vendors and subcontractors performing the work at Biscayne Beach, the lawsuit alleges.
In a statement provided to TRD, a Plaza spokesperson declined comment on the allegations. “Plaza just received the complaint this week and is currently reviewing it,” the statement said. Baker’s in-house counsel Richard Farr did not return a phone message seeking comment.
Two weeks ago, Biscayne Beach announced in a press release that it was recording closings, four years after launching sales. The new tower, located at 2900 Northeast 7th Avenue, is 99 percent sold and prices ranged from $400,000 to $9 million for one-, two- and three-bedroom condos, townhouse-style units and two-story upper penthouses with private pools and garden terraces, according to the release.