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Regalia’s condo association alleges flawed design, building code violations: lawsuit
Association claims flaws and damage to concrete, glass, plumbing, parking garage and more
Regalia’s condo association is suing the developer, contractor, architect and a laundry list of subcontractors for alleged design and construction defects and damage to the 47-story luxury condo tower in Sunny Isles Beach.
The Regalia on the Ocean Condominium Association filed a lawsuit in Miami-Dade Circuit Court earlier this month against Regalia Beach Developers LLC, general contractor Charleville Development Corp., Arquitectonica International Corp., DDA Engineers and more than a dozen other companies.
The suit seeks more than $750,000 in damages.
A group led by developers Kevin Venger and Louis R. Montello completed the 39-unit tower at 19575 Collins Avenue in 2014. According to the lawsuit, Pistorino & Alam, an engineering firm, provided the association a turnover report outlining defects and deficiencies in the building in November 2016. The following year, the association served the report to the defendants and in 2018, did the same with a supplemental report.
In August of this year, the condo association provided the developer and other defendants with a notice of claim, describing newly discovered water intrusion had damaged the lobby and second floor living room.
The lawsuit details allegations made against the developer, contractors and architect, including that the glass and glazing systems are defective, leading to water intrusion and air infiltration; that the aluminum structure and railings were improperly installed with missing screws or screws “tightened beyond the acceptable tolerance,” and more. As a result of the alleged defective installation of the guardrail system, glass panels are more vulnerable to shattering. The lawsuit cites one example of the glass insert blowing out and shattering on the pool deck area.
The condo association also alleges flaws in the design and damage to the stucco, concrete structure, post tension cables, parking garage, roof, plumbing and drainage systems, HVAC, fire protection system, electrical work, pool deck and spa, doors and more.
The Klaus Auto-Parksystem that the building uses has a maximum weight for a vehicle of 4,410 pounds. But most standard SUVs and luxury cars exceed that limit, according to the complaint.
The condo association is alleging negligence, violation of the state’s building code, and breach of implied warranties.
Attorneys for the defendants either declined to comment or did not respond to emails seeking comment.
While the developer completed the building in 2014, it still has two units left to sell: the three-story penthouse asking $29.5 million and two-story “beach house” asking $22.5 million. Both were relisted in September with Coldwell Banker’s The Jills team. In August, the developer secured a $29 million condo inventory loan for the two units.