DAYTONA BEACH — A little over one week after Protogroup's oceanfront condominium construction site was slapped with a condemnation and demolition order, the company has snapped into action and started clearing out rusting and deteriorating building materials.
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Protogroup is about to start cleaning up the rusted rebar atop the pilings in the foundation of its condominium project on Daytona Beach's oceanfront that's planned to reach 31 stories. Last week, the city issued a condemnation and demolition order on the site, but now the city is giving the company a chance to get back on track. |
Protogroup condo
project getting back on track: Ray of hope: City and
Protogroup in talks to resume condo construction
Protogroup condo site slapped with condemnation order:
Owners of Protogroup's Daytona oceanfront condo facing
demolition order
Read more about Protogroup's hotel and condo project:
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While Protogroup is diligently adhering to the city's
orders, and even going the extra mile with the protective
paint on the columns that the city didn't request, the
condemnation and demolition order imposed Sept. 1 will
remain in place at least until it's determined that the
rebar is strong enough to use, Urquhart said.
Urquhart wrote in his three-page condemnation order that
portions of the unfinished structure are dangerous and
"likely to partially or completely collapse, or to become
detached or dislodged" due to faulty construction, neglect,
abandonment, exposure to the elements, damage and decay.
Protogroup project aiming to get back on track
On Sept. 1 the city mandated that Palm Coast-based
Protogroup, which is operating under the name PDA Trading
Inc. on the condo project, secure or repair the rusting
concrete structure "to a safe condition" within three days,
or demolish it and clear the site by Sept. 21.
If the company defies the orders coming from City Hall, the
city can still level part or all of what's been built so
far, impose penalties and attach a lien on the property for
all demolition and debris removal costs.
The bright orange condemnation placards that were posted on
the condo's foundation Sept. 1 have been removed since
Alexey Lysich, the registered agent for the property owner,
told Urquhart he's committed to getting the $100 million
project back on track.
Lysich could not be reached for comment Friday.
If Protogroup clears away all debris and is able to get the
foundation strong enough for the 31 floors intended to be
built on top of it, then the city will consider allowing
another 180 days of work. If all goes well after the 180
days, it could return to being an active project again
that's inspected every few weeks.
"As long as we see them be proactive," Urquhart said. "It's
been stagnant for several years. They know we'll be right
back on them if they slip. Hopefully this puts them in the
right direction."
The condo tower was originally slated for completion in
2020. The city has agreed to several extensions, and the
latest construction completion deadline is in March of 2024.
"Hopefully they'll get moving forward and complete the
project in a few years," Urquhart said. "I'm happy to see
some action."
While the concrete foundation columns have been standing for
about three years, not much else has been happening on the
site of what was promised to be the tallest structure ever
built in Volusia County.
In April the city declared Protogroup's building permit
expired because so little work had taken place over the
previous two years. If the company allows the condo project
to languish again, the permit will expire again and all work
will shut down.
Last week, the cleanup work brought some activity back to
the site. In an email sent to Urquhart Wednesday, Graham
Currie of Protogroup said his team had met the previous day
with Josh Antos of Truant Concrete and requested that he put
together a crew to "clean up the jobsite urgently. He is
currently pulling together personnel to do this work."
Currie went on to write that he was talking with TLC
Engineering and had requested the firm's recommendations for
physical testing of the existing reinforcement on the
jobsite. He said independent testing will be carried out by
Universal Engineering.
In another email to Urquhart sent Thursday, Currie laid out
the timeline for tasks to get the site back on track. He
said TLC Engineering will conduct an initial evaluation this
week, and then reinforcement testing will be conducted later
this week and next week.
The engineering firm's findings and its report are scheduled
to be reviewed the week of Sept. 26, according to Currie's
email.
The Protogroup condo hotel backstory
The unfinished condo tower is part of a $192 million
twin-tower hotel-condominium project on a 4.6-acre site
that's been in the works for nearly a decade.
Excavation work began in March 2017, with an initial
projected completion date of summer 2019 for the 28-story
hotel south tower. The 455-room Daytona Grande hotel had its
construction deadlines extended several times, and it
finally opened in June last year.
Last week's condemnation order doesn’t affect the Daytona
Grande, although city officials said that property might be
in danger of foreclosure.
Work on the north tower's foundation began in December 2018,
and it now has piles driven 100 feet down into the sandy
oceanfront property.
The project has switched contractors several times and run
into a series of snags. Among the missteps was construction
of a westward valet lane for the parking garage built on the
one-way eastbound Oakridge Boulevard, and insufficient
restoration of the intersection in front of the new hotel
last year after new water and sewer lines were installed
underneath that crossing.
There have also been legal fights with past contractors and
a small decades-old motel that sits in the middle of the two
tower sites.
'I could be dead by the time they build it'
A 65-year-old Tennessee woman has been nervously watching
the latest developments with the condo project. In late
2020, the retiree put down a $26,000 deposit on a $260,000
studio unit in the planned tower, and now she's worrying
she'll lose her money and never get her beachfront getaway.
She's also worried that she bought into a condo building
that could collapse like the 12-story Champlain Towers South
condominium in the Miami suburb of Surfside that crumbled
last year and killed 98 people. She also fears the
Protogroup hotel building next door could fall into the
condo site.
She feels like she's losing her grasp on her dream of having
a beautiful place to stay while she visits her children in
Daytona Beach.
"I could be dead by the time they build it," she said.
The woman, who fears retaliation from Protogroup, wanted to
be identified only by her first name, Nancy.
Her money is in an escrow account, so if the project dies
she hopes she at least gets her deposit back. So, most
likely, do the other 80 buyers who have also put down 10% of
the sale price.
"I thought it would be a good investment," she said. "I
figured after the Miami collapse they'd crack down. I'm very
disappointed. Now I feel like it's the worst possible thing
I could have gotten involved in."