PB Gardens condo community seeks yet another contractor to repair its buildings

A Fort Meyers-based contractor stopped repairing water-damaged buildings at the San Matera condo complex over a payment dispute

Workers remove scaffolding after San Matera condo repair work stopped in April. (Credit: Richard Graulich | Palm Beach Post)
Workers remove scaffolding after San Matera condo repair work stopped in April. (Credit: Richard Graulich | Palm Beach Post)

Repairs to water-damaged buildings at a Palm Beach Gardens condo complex have stopped amid questions about who will finish the job.

A Fort-Meyer-based contractor walked off the job in dispute over payment, according to condo owners at the San Matera condominium community, and repairs to all 30 buildings there remain incomplete.

The saga of the San Matera began after construction of the 100-acre complex was finished in 2005.
After residents moved it, they found water intrusion in their condos, and engineers later would identify multiple sources that included leaky roofs, windows and walls.

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Water intrusion damaged many of the 676 units. So, the homeowners’ association at San Matera sued insurers for the developer, Kolter Homes, and multiple subcontractors, then settled the case for $22.5 million in 2016.

But yellow caution tape still cordons off parts of the San Matera complex, where Fort Meyers-based contractor Florida Structural Group had spent 18 months repairing defective construction before walking off the job April 10.

According to the company that manages San Matera, the board of the homeowners’ association is negotiating with another contractor to finish the repair work, but no timetable has been set. [Palm Beach Post]Mike Seemuth