BOYNTON BEACH — A group of Boynton Beach condo owners is pushing back on plans for a $8 million safety repair project, alleging that its board has so mismanaged the work that a court-appointed receiver needs to take control of the complex.

At issue is a concrete restoration project at Seagate of Gulfstream, a 50-year-old, five-building community on the Intracoastal Waterway in Boynton Beach that consists of 360 condominiums. Each of the buildings is four stories. A state law adopted in response to the June 2021 tragic collapse of a 12-story beachfront condo tower in Surfside requires safety inspections and calls for money reserves to be fully funded. The law applies to buildings that are three stories or more in height. The Palm Beach Post, in a special report published in October, outlined the hardships that the law is causing to many condo owners who say they can't afford to undertake the expensive repairs and fully fund their reserves. Multiple complexes have been found to be so unsafe that building officials ordered them evacuated. The group of owners at Seagate, upset over the cost of the repair work and how it was being done, went so far as to create a limited liability corporation called "The Concerned Owners of Seagate of Gulfstream." The LLC hired a lawyer and then filed a complaint in Palm Beach County Circuit Court alleging that the engineer hired by the association recommended unnecessary work, and that the contractor overseeing the work failed to monitor it properly. As a result, many condo owners have had to cope for months with the removal of “screens, hurricane shutters, windows, sliding glass doors, and floor coverings,” the complaint alleges.

Seagate of Gulfstream in Boynton Beach on the Intracoastal. A group of owners has filed a complaint with the courts calling for a receiver to assume control of operations on the grounds that the association is being mismanaged.

Elizabeth Mifsud, a member of the group challenging the association, acknowledged that some of the lanais needed to be boarded while work on the concrete was being done. But the work was supposed to take a few days, she said. Many of the condominiums have been boarded up for months, denying owners access to their lanais.

Mifsud said more than half of the 360 units have joined the owners group. An effort to recall members from the board failed this year when the board refused to accept the recall petition, according to Mifsud.
 

The complaint also alleges that contracts for the multimillion-dollar project were awarded without transparency, claiming that the board president signed them without having owners present at a community meeting. Legal challenge to recommended work may be unprecedented The complaint may be the first of its type. State law requires initial safety inspection reports to be completed by Dec. 31. The Florida Legislature is expected to determine next year whether the law should be changed to lessen the impact on condo owners. “There appears to be no end to the cost of the concrete restoration project and the overcharging of fees. FirstService, U.P.E., and Waterfront Services all enjoy a financial benefit from this project and making it as costly as possible,” the complaint said. Waterfront Services of Lake Park was the firm hired to do the concrete restoration. United Professional Engineering (UPE) of Lake Worth Beach was the firm hired to oversee the work, and FirstService Residential is the management company at Seagate. Efforts by The Post to obtain comment from the condo association, Waterfront Services and FirstService Residential were unsuccessful.

Repair work is currently underway at the 50-year-old Seagate of Gulfstream condominium complex.

 

UPE emailed a statement to The Post. It said the contract with the association identified a standard of care to which it had to adhere.

UPE said it "provided services consistent with or exceeding that standard of care. It (UPE) performed many tasks including structural condition assessments, special inspections, and construction administration. The project has progressed in a manner consistent with other similar projects and is targeted to be completed within the overall budget."

 

 

The legal action against the Seagate Association also claims that board members Richard Deluca and Don Miller should be removed because they owed the association money when they successfully sought election to the board last February. The association's bylaws say that anyone who is delinquent can not run for a seat on the board.

A complaint was also filed in March with the state Department of Business and Professional Regulation calling for the removal of Deluca and Miller. The agency has yet to issue a decision.

At a board meeting on Dec. 19, residents were informed of the lawsuit, and that a reporter had sought comment from the board. Residents were told that the association was unaware of the lawsuit until the reporter called for comment.