Perko Development and Kolter Urban have a new obstacle in their effort to redevelop a beachfront Tequesta condominium.
It marks the latest attempt by neighbors of Beach Sound to block the condo project. The Claridge Jupiter Island Condominium Association filed a petition for writ of certiorari in Palm Beach County Circuit Court against the developers’ PK Beach Sound LLC and Palm Beach County, court records show. The suit, filed Aug. 22, alleges the county improperly approved a waiver requested for the project, and seeks to nullify the decision.
Attorneys for the county and the developers declined to comment on the suit. An attorney for the Claridge association did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Beach Sound is a four-story, 12-unit condo, built in 1984, at 19930 Beach Road on Jupiter Island. The developers plan to demolish the existing building and build a new eight-story, 12-unit condo with the same name.
Perko is led by Phil Perko, and Delray Beach-based Kolter is helmed by CEO Robert Julien. Earlier this summer, the partners dropped $37.6 million on a condo buyout in West Palm Beach, where they’re planning Flagler House, a waterfront 18-story, 39-unit condo tower.
The Jupiter Island project has faced opposition since its inception. Karen and Edward Rado, owners of existing Beach Sound unit 301, have refused to sell their unit to the partners and have a separate lawsuit seeking to overturn the condominium termination filed last year, court records show.
Neighbors have dubbed the project “the Beast of Beach Sound.” A website devoted to rallying resistance to the project claims the project as designed would “cast shadows on the Claridge pool, spa, fountains, sunbathing areas,” and lists the Claridge, Carlyle, Ocean Sound, Passages, Landfall and Sea Watch as opposed to the development. Representatives for the Claridge, which is at 19950 Beach Road, and the Carlyle, which is at 19700 Beach Road, also spoke against the project at a zoning hearing last year.
“The Carlyle plans on putting forth a vigorous opposition to the redevelopment at all stages,” attorney Gerald Collins said on behalf of the condo. Perko has other condo projects in the area. The firm partnered with Jeffrey Soffer’s Fontainebleau Development on SeaGlass Jupiter Island at 1500 Beach Road, which completed a $168.8 million sellout in 2023. Perko is also partnering with Soffer on a planned condo at 250 Beach Road, after finishing a $100 million buyout of the Regency Condominium in 2022.