Castle Beach condos lets owners back after 2 years

Robert Berman had been a resident of Castle Beach Condominium for close to a decade when he learned that he and the owners of the building's 586 units had to leave.

The condo, built in 1967, suffered structural damage and electrical wiring defects that led Miami Beach city engineers to close the building in April 2005.

''Being homeless is one of the worst experiences in the world,'' said Berman, 62. "It was a horrible feeling.''

Robert Stone, a certified public accountant, was given responsibility for the building by a Miami-Dade County Court.

He notified residents in a May 2005 letter that while repairs to the 18-story building, at 5445 Collins Ave., were being made, they would have to continue paying their monthly maintenance and assessments.

For Berman, that meant a $490 monthly maintenance fee and $600 in special assessments, not including his regular monthly mortgage. Residents also had to pay rent for temporary housing or seek refuge with friends and family.

Stone's letter estimated that repairs would cost about $20 million and take six months. It turned out to be 2 ½ years.

''At one point I didn't think we would ever get back in the building,'' said Berman, who moved in with his girlfriend in the interim.

Castle Beach Condo board president Caridad Amores said all major safety issues have been resolved and 80 percent of the building's structural damage has been repaired.

Residents celebrated the building's reopening in November.

''It definitely was a loss having to pay the mortgage, maintenance, special assessment fees and rent for temporary housing,'' said Francesco Stipo, 34, an international business attorney who moved into one of the penthouses in 2003.

''I'm very happy to be back,'' he said. "It's like waking up after a nightmare.''

The building, which first opened as the Hilton Plaza, has had many reincarnations and names.

In the 1970s, it became the Playboy Plaza, where Hugh Hefner had the penthouse suite.

Later it became the Plaza, the Miami Beach Hyatt House, the Konover Hotel, the Castle Premier Hotel, the Castle Hotel and Resort, Clarion Castle Hotel and Resort and the Castle Beach Hotel.

It became the Castle Beach Condominium in 1993.

The condo has encountered a ''perfect storm of problems,'' condo board president Amores said.

The trouble began in 2003, when a condo owner sued the condominium board, charging that the board had not properly maintained the ground-floor theater's roof.

The city said it had no choice but to enforce a mandatory evacuation order in 2005, because it had given the condo board repeated notice of code violations that were never fixed.

Assistant City Manager Tim Hemstreet said the building was ordered closed ``due to specific electrical violations that affected the safety of the building's occupants. It was reopened as these violations were corrected.''

When the building was evacuated, the court took power away from the board and gave control of the building to Stone.

But many unit owners, not satisfied with his management, sought to replace the receiver with a five-member board chosen by the owners. They succeeded.

The new condo board was appointed in November 2005 and ''is dedicated to making Castle Beach Condominium better than ever,'' Amores said.

Hemstreet said the condo association decided to reopen the building floor by floor starting in 2006.

While residents are breathing a sigh of relief, there is still much work to be done, including extensive plumbing and some window replacements. The pool also needs to be redone and the building needs to be repainted.

Additionally, a dozen commercial units on the ground floor cannot reopen until the outdated system that provides electricity to the building is replaced.

Resident Alex Solon, who owns a Russian and Turkish bathhouse inside the building that remains closed, is still out of work.

''It was a double whammy -- losing our residence and business,'' said Solon, 38. "It was devastating.''

Complicating the renovation process is how to finance the continuing repairs.

Because the building was closed by the city, obtaining a loan for the projects has been difficult, Berman said.

Today board members rely on the special assessments and a credit system granted by a few contractors, including Ideal Construction Solutions, which have come to their aid.

''It was heartbreaking as residents would stop by and inquire about the building's progress,'' said Jose Hernandez, project manager for Ideal Construction. "We are very proud of being part of this organization in an effort to bring people back home.''

Berman, also a member of the condo board, calls it ''creative financing'' and said he appreciates what Ideal Construction Service has done so far.

Ultimately, Berman said, a loan of between $15 million and $20 million will be necessary to complete the project.