|
Article
Courtesy of Local 10.com
By Peter
D'Oench, Local 10 Producer
Published July 28, 2006
NORTH BAY VILLAGE, Fla. -- The
Grandview Palace Condominium captured attention when Hurricane Wilma blew
out its windows and shut down elevators for 1500 residents. The situation
deteriorated when building code violations were discovered.
Now, beleaguered owners of the 532-unit high-rise
North Bay Village condominium have asked a Miami-Dade Judge for help. Nine
months after Wilma, nearly 20 of the owners who were led by owner and
activist Ray Trujillo and the North Bay Village Mayor told Judge Ronald
Friedman that repairs were taking too long and were a long way from being
finished.
An aerial view from Sky 10 showed two men working on
top of the 26-story building at 7601 East Treasure Drive and construction
debris scattered on top of a blue tarpaulin.
| Owners said widows are
still broken and walls remain damaged. They said more than
60 balconies must be fixed and said the building still has
leaks.
Wilma caused some problems. Then
inspectors found code violations that existed before that
October storm. Owner Victor Hugo said the fire sprinkler
system was installed improperly and without permits.
The
Grandview Palace Condominium is the tallest building in
North Bay Village. It took weeks to repair the |
|
|
elevators
after Wilma and many of the residents begged for help. Owner Jennifer
Smith said the elevators were still operating very slowly.
Before a packed courtroom, North Bay Village Mayor
Joseph Geller posed a question for Special Master Kenneth Marlin, who was
appointed to oversee the repair of code violations and hurricane damage.
Geller asked Friedman if he had a target date for the end of repairs.
Marlin said the answer was no.
Marlin said progress was being made since he was
appointed in January. He said it was extremely difficult to find all the
glass and frames needed for the windows and said there were delays in
getting permits for all of the work.
But Judge Friedman ordered Marlin to talk to owners,
get their suggestions and come up with a plan to expedite the repairs.
Friedman told Marlin he should have that plan prepared by the next status
conference on August 23rd.
"The main thing," said Trujillo, "is
that the building be safe by the next hurricane season."
Geller said, "Our citizens in this building are
suffering. We want it finished for the people. We want the repairs
completed and done."
Owners are also being billed thousands of dollars
each because of extra maintenance fees related to repairs and substantial
attorneys' fees. The Grandview Palace Condominium Association hired a law
firm to help and is also suing the City of North Bay Village.
That has been costly. In court, Trujillo revealed
that the association's legal fees for January through May of this year
totaled $92,000. Those fees were being passed along to owners.
"It's very frustrating," said owner Eddy
Desir. "The money we have to pay does not come back that
easily."
|
