UPDATED, March 9, 10:30 a.m.
A couple who purchased a unit at Monaco Yacht Club in Miami Beach is accusing the developer of false and misleading advertising of the waterfront luxury condo development, including that the now-completed project’s marina allegedly doesn’t even fit yachts.
Adam Rose and his husband, Peter McQuillan, sued 6800 Indian Creek LLC in Miami-Dade Circuit Court late last year. The company is an affiliate of Optimum Asset Management, previously led by Ricardo Tabet.
Optimum completed the 11-story, 39-unit building at 6800 Indian Creek Drive in North Beach last year, more than four years after launching presales. It was designed by Arquitectonica with interiors by Italian designer Piero Lissoni. The building is one of a handful Optimum has developed in Miami-Dade County.
Rose, a New York-based developer who ran Rose Associates until he retired in 2019, and his husband alleged that the design they were promised — and which was presented in the marketing materials for Monaco Yacht Club — is not what they received. Rose and McQuillan have not closed on the unit, records show. They are seeking their $1.6 million deposit back, plus interest and fees, according to the suit.
Rose and McQuillan allege they would not have entered into a contract to buy a unit at the condo project had they known how it would turn out once completed.
Rose and his attorney, Richard Segal of Miami-based Segal Zuckerman, declined to comment.
Matthew Barry, manager of the entity that developed the building, said in a statement that “the complaint has no basis.” A motion to approve an evidentiary hearing is set for later this month.
Rose and McQuillan entered into a contract to buy a unit on the 10th floor for $4 million in August 2020, according to the complaint.
The developer financed construction of the building with a $55 million loan from Och-Ziff Capital Management Group in early 2019. Soon after, Optimum launched presales.
To promote sales, the developer branded the project as the “crème de [la] crème,” and the “soul of the Cote D’Azur” with the “essence of contemporary coastal chic,” according to the complaint.
Instead, the couple alleges that the building’s amenities and features are “way less lavish and of a far inferior quality” once completed.
The pool deck depicted in renderings and preconstruction marketing materials is in reality “drastically different” than the actual pool area, including the quality, lack of setbacks, and reduced usable surface and seating area, the complaint alleges.
As built, the marina has “very small docks meant to service jet skis, paddle boarding, kayaking and smaller ski boats.” But the marina that the developer advertised is supposed to accommodate large boats and yachts, according to the complaint.
As for the lobby and gym, Rose and McQuillan allege they were delivered “minimally decorated” and “cheap and tawdry” spaces.
Fortune Development Sales led sales and marketing of the project. Danny Hertzberg of The Jills Zeder Group at Coldwell Banker represented Rose and McQuillan, according to a copy of the contract, which was included in the court filings.
In November, before the couple filed their lawsuit, they demanded their deposit back, alleging that the developer had failed to obtain its certificate of occupancy and failed to provide a closing date “despite over a year of continued promises” that the closing was imminent. The developer refused to cancel the buyers’ purchase agreement and refund the deposit by mid-November, according to the complaint.
Thirty five closings have been recorded since June, according to property records. Buyers include beauty mogul Marc Capri, co-founder of Sol de Janeiro, maker of Brazilian Bum Bum Body Cream.
The developer denied Rose and McQuillan’s claims in the mid-November letter. An attorney for the developer at the time wrote that the firm built the project and the units according to the terms of the agreement. The developer had the right “to make changes in plans and specifications … as is customary in connection with the sale of newly constructed condominium projects,” the letter states.
Optimum’s other projects include the former Celino South Beach hotel complex, which it sold to a CGI Hospitality Fund that included retired Yankees player Alex Rodriguez, in August 2021. Optimum acquired the Ocean Drive property, which included the former Park Central, the Imperial Hotel, Heathcote Apartments and then-vacant land in 2013 for $51 million. The firm then embarked on a multi-year, multimillion-dollar renovation and expansion of the hotel.
Optimum also built a five-story, 65,000-square-foot office building 3480 Main Highway, with restaurants on the ground floor and rooftop, including the Lebanese restaurant Amal Miami.
Tabet, who was a co-founder and CEO of Optimum Development USA, is now president and CEO of Miami Beach-based Synergy 8 Capital, according to his LinkedIn.