The Alexander Group allegedly mismanaged and then refused to complete Indian Creek Island mansion: lawsuit

The Alexander Group, a North Miami Beach-based general contractor specializing in modern mansions, is facing accusations of cost overruns, project delays and abandoning the work site of a luxurious, two-story residence under construction at 30 Indian Creek Island Road.

Four Palms of Indian Creek, a shell corporation owned by the offshore company Salvado Investment Corp., is suing The Alexander Group for breach of contract. The suit, filed last month in Miami-Dade Circuit Court, alleges that Four Palms lost more than $1 million as a result of the general contractor’s alleged ineptitude and misrepresented expertise.

Four Palm’s attorney Adrian Felix and The Alexander Group principals Orly and Shlomo Alexander did not return messages seeking comment.

David Haber, lawyer for The Alexander Group, said his client is a reputable contractor and that Four Palms only filed its complaint to avoid first being sued by the builder. “They owe my client hundreds of thousands of dollars and most of the damages they caused themselves,” Haber said. “We are going to vigorously defend the lawsuit and file a counterclaim against Four Palms.”

According to a May 10 construction lien against Four Palms, The Alexander Group is alleging nonpayment of $534,133 for the Indian Creek Island home. Four subcontractors also filed liens for a total of $59,375 in unpaid work.

In its lawsuit, Four Palms alleges that The Alexander Group was ill-equipped to take on a construction of the size and scope of its mansion project, which led to substantial overruns, delays and defective work. “Defendant took advantage of the fact that plaintiff’s members resided out-of-town and relied heavily on defendants (mis)represented expertise,” the lawsuit alleges. “Plaintiff, as a result, has been left to address and correct the numerous, costly defects that exist at the project.”

Four Palms and The Alexander Group entered into an agreement in April 2016 to build a 20,000-square-foot modern mansion that would not exceed a cost of $10.5 million, and agreed that the work would be substantially completed in 19 months. Construction began eights months later and the project fell behind schedule approximately a year later. Four Palms alleges that the shell work was supposed to be completed in September 2017, but wasn’t finished until between March 2018 and April 2018. Roof work that was also supposed to begin in September 2017 did not start until two months later, the lawsuit claims.

By January, when the project’s completion had been delayed for more than six months, Four Palms and The Alexander Group fought over the final punch list and the completion schedule. Meanwhile, the project was poorly done, according to the complaint. An air-conditioning room on the second floor had water leaks, there were excessive vibrations and dangerous overheating of the generator room, defective electrical work throughout the house and flooding on the northwest side of the property, Four Palms alleges.

On May 22, Four Palms notified The Alexander Group that it had defaulted on the construction contract. A week later, The Alexander Group terminated the contract and left the work site, the lawsuit claims.