Article
Courtesy of Palm Beach Post
By Jane
Musgrave
Published January 27, 2007
WEST PALM BEACH —
The nightmare is finally over for far-flung
residents of the hurricane-ravaged 1515 Tower.
Late
Friday afternoon, a New York-based hedge fund transferred $36.5 million
into a condominium bank account, consummating the sale of the once-regal
30-story waterfront condominium, which has been covered with plywood and
plastic since it was pummeled by back-to-back hurricanes in 2004.
"I'm
very happy," said Jen Werner, who had lived in the 119-unit
waterfront tower for only four months when the hurricanes hit. "Maybe
we'll have a big party."
But
like many owners who have watched their hopes for multimillion-dollar
insurance settlements disappear and other sales deals collapse, Werner's
enthusiasm was tempered with skepticism.
"I'll
believe it when I get my check in the mail," she said.
That
should begin happening Monday, said attorney Daryl Cramer, who handled the
complex sale for the association.
While
he understood residents' disbelief, particularly since the sale was
delayed repeatedly during the last month, he said it is official. The
average sale price was about $307,000.
Bill
Jacobson, an attorney who represents the buyer Stillwell Capital Partners,
confirmed Cramer's words. "My
clients are now the proud owners of the 1515 Tower," he said.
Now
that they own it, he said, they plan to tear it down.
Next
week, he said, his clients will begin meeting with city officials to
determine what they can build on the roughly 2-acre site on South Flagler
Drive, just south of downtown.
Technically,
a new building would be capped at four stories and 64 units, said Charles
Wu, city planning director. However, he said, if the building is
configured in a certain way, waivers can be granted that could add as many
as 20 stories.
Jacobson
predicted it would be early spring before the pockmarked 1515 Tower would
be razed. City building officials have said steps must be taken to secure
the building before the next hurricane season.
While
there has been talk of imploding it, city building official Neil Melick
said that could be dangerous, given the proximity of nearby buildings.
"It's
very complicated," he said. "You have explosives that produce
recoil that can damage adjacent buildings."
Still,
Jacobson said, those decisions are well into the future. He said he's just
glad the complex task of closing on 113 units simultaneously is complete.
Owners who did not participate in the mass sale now will have no choice
but to sell.
While
the sale allows unit owners to move on with their lives, Cramer
acknowledged that a lot of people got hurt.
Hani
Riad, a retired information technology executive who became president of
the condo board last January, described the past year as "a very
rough ride."
A
promised $55 million sale collapsed last summer. A month later, residents
were forced to settle a $20 million lawsuit against QBE Insurance for
$2.25 million. A mock jury that had heard the case found that fraud and
misrepresentation had fueled the condo's claims.
"Some
people have had nervous breakdowns," Riad said. "They speak to
me through their relatives because they can't even talk about it."
Few
are making any money on the sale. When a roughly $60,000 assessment, $400
monthly maintenance fees and the cost of temporary housing are factored
in, the financial hit most residents took is enormous.
Owner
Randie Dalia, who now lives in a rental unit in Juno Beach, said she has
learned her lesson. "I'll never buy a condo again."
Christopher
Horn, who hadn't even lived in his unit before the storms struck, said he
may buy another condo.
"But
I'm older and wiser," he said. In the future, he'll require
hurricane-proof windows and make sure the association has enough money in
reserve to deal with the possible impact of a hurricane.
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