Allegations of shoddy construction at a Related Group development in South Beach, where its chairman and CEO Jorge Pérez is trying to sell his penthouse, are piling up.
A recent lawsuit filed in Miami-Dade Circuit Court accuses Related, architects Sieger Suarez, general contractor Plaza Construction of Florida and three subcontractors of failing to address numerous construction defects inside two units purchased by Auckland Properties 005 LLC at the 50-unit development, at 1 Collins Avenue in the South of Fifth neighborhood.
The allegations come seven months after the One Ocean Condominium Association also sued the developers and companies involved in the project’s construction for alleged construction defects.
Related’s head, Pérez, owns a four-bedroom penthouse at One Ocean. He’s attempting to sell the unit, which he closed on in 2016 for $4.2 million, for a now-reduced price of $11 million.
Lana Naghshineh, the attorney for Auckland Properties 005, said her client said Related and Plaza have failed to fix plumbing issues, improperly installed light fixtures, a non-working spa pump, parking spaces that are too small and other deficiencies covered by warranty.
“It was a terrible investment for my client,” Naghshineh said. “We tried for a year to get Plaza and Related to work with us. They promised to make repairs and they didn’t do it. It’s not fair.”
Representatives for Related and Sieger did not respond to requests for comment.
A Plaza spokesperson said the company met its requirements. “To the extent that Plaza Construction has warranty obligations, we always endeavor to respond to such requests,” the spokesperson wrote via email. “In this instance, Plaza Construction timely and properly responded to the claims.”
According to the complaint, Auckland Properties 005 entered into a purchase agreement in 2013 for two units that were combined during construction and two tandem parking spaces at One Ocean. The company closed on the purchase three years later. Property records show Auckland Properties 005 paid $8.3 million for the two units. The LLC is tied to Hayworth Global Real Estate Ltd. and lists a Brickell address.
The lawsuit claims vehicles cannot fit in the tandem space because an adjacent concrete wall prevents cars from entering and exiting properly. In addition, the combined unit has unfinished interior drywall, low water pressure coming out of a bathroom showerhead and kitchen faucet, light fixtures installed in a crooked manner and a non-functioning spa pump, the complaint alleges.
The condo association filed suit in April, alleging it discovered deficiencies in the mechanical, electrical, plumbing and life-safety components of One Ocean. Corrosion on sliding glass doors; cracked stucco, walls, ceilings, balconies and masonry; and deteriorated and defective balcony railings are among the alleged examples of shoddy construction.