Stucco debris from Aria on the Bay ignites lawsuit against Melo Group

Four months after completing Aria on the Bay in Miami, the Melo Group is catching heat from one of the new tower’s neighbors over some stucco spraying.

The master association and the condo association for the 1800 Club at 1800 North Bayshore Drive earlier this month sued Melo Edgewater Corp. and Bayshore Plaza LLC, the two Melo entities that developed Aria, for trespassing and negligence.

The 1800 associations allege the 41-story high-rise’s exterior sustained “extensive permanent damage” when Melo contractors applied surface stucco to the Aria building in 2016 and 2017. Gregory Elder, the lawyer for the associations, declined comment. A Melo spokesperson could not immediately respond to the allegations.

According to the complaint, the stucco was “sprayed, dropped and/or splattered” onto railings, aluminum frames, glass panels, floors and walls of the balconies at the 1800 Club. The lawsuit alleges that the Melo companies were negligent because no debris netting was used to catch wayward stucco droppings and stucco was applied at times when the wind speeds and changes were inappropriate for that type of work.

The associations also cited a previous 2016 lawsuit filed against the Melo Group in which Bay Parc Plaza Apartments alleged dangerous construction debris had damaged the property. That complaint was settled the same year.

The Melo Group completed the 53-story Aria in May. At the time, company executives said the 648-unit luxury tower at 488 Northeast 18th Street was 90 percent sold. The sleek, nearly all glass building overlooks Margaret Pace Park, near Miami’s Edgewater and Arts and Entertainment neighborhoods. Among the buyers are music producer Timbaland and Giancarlo Stanton, a former Miami Marlin who was traded to the New York Yankees in December 2017.

The 1800 Club is a 469-unit condominium that was completed in 2007 at the outset of the housing market crash.