As legal challenges mount at the Amrit Ocean Resort on Singer Island, Riviera Beach’s police department is now investigating complaints from buyers that they were misled about their units’ eligibility for Florida’s homestead property tax exemption.
Owners say they were led to believe they were buying condo units at Amrit Ocean, which is classified as a hotel and therefore not eligible for the homestead exemption, the Palm Beach Post reported. Amrit, at 3100 Ocean Drive on Singer Island in Riviera Beach, was completed in 2022 by an affiliate of Dilip Barot’s Creative Choice Group 15 years after the project was initially conceived.
Residents also said they are not only missing out on promised tax benefits, but also struggling to address issues at an allegedly shoddily built complex.
“Every room in the Amrit is a hotel room,” Riviera Beach City Council member Glen Spiritis told the Post. “It is not a condominium. It was approved as a hotel. It was built as a hotel.”
The oceanfront complex includes two towers. A 2021 Florida YIMBY article describes the unit split in the building as “182 ultra-luxury residences” and “155 resort units,” but the condominium declaration filed with Palm Beach County states the units are not classified as permanent residences.
Amrit owners, many of whom paid $1 million or more for their units, are saying they were misled not just about the condominium status of the units they were buying, but also about the luxury amenities and management of the complex, the Post reported.
“I was promised homestead. I was promised a lifestyle where I didn’t have to worry about septic, sewage. I wouldn’t have to worry about fire alarms. I came here with this unbelievable fantasy that it was an incredible condo,” Amrit resident Chris Hickey told the publication.
Residents said nothing about the purchasing process indicated they were buying into a hotel property.
“We can all read our documents. There was nothing in these documents that implied we were buying a hotel suite. This is wrong, and this should be righted by our government,” Amrit resident David Frank said at a town hall with Riviera Beach officials. “We have been defrauded. Three hundred of us have been defrauded.”
Spiritis said the city is exploring a zoning change for the property to make owners eligible for the homestead exemption.
But Amrit is still facing a mounting stack of legal challenges. At least seven lawsuits have been filed against the property and affiliates of the developer, WFLX reports. One suit cites inoperable elevators, water intrusion and cracking ceilings, according to the outlet. Another involves two contractors alleging they were not paid more than $100,000 worth of work.
“We are doing an investigation, and we want to get to the bottom of all of the issues,” Spiritis told the Post. “This is horrible. This is not a good situation.”
–– Kate Hinsche
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Residential
South Florida
Condo buyer sues developer of Amrit project on Singer Island over association control