Crumbling seawall could lead to next Surfside, condo owners fear
Engineers said a 5.2-foot storm surge would cause 'catastrophic damage to the incomplete and weakened seawall.'
Homeowners at a luxury condominium in Miami are concerned they’re facing a potential structural collapse as necessary repairs to a crumbling seawall have allegedly been neglected.
A 2019 court order addressed the repairs at Jockey Club Condominium Apartments at 11111 Biscayne Blvd., but a Jockey Club HOA attorney says nothing has been done to address 24 repairs and upgrades.
After the deadly collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside in June 2021, the unit owners say they want help saving the properties they’ve invested in for a long time.
The Miami-Dade County Building Code Enforcement Office recently issued a notice of violation for the damaged seawall and set an April 18 deadline for repairs.
If repairs to the seawall are not made by that time, the owner of the common areas and the seawall Doron Jockey Club — previously Apeiron Miami — could face a $500 or more ticket, a civil lawsuit, criminal charges, and/or initiation of an unsafe structure case that could result in the demolition of the seawall.
Storm surge could cause ‘catastrophic damage’
According to Jockey Club’s HOA attorney Glen Waldman of Armstrong Teasdale in Miami, the owners just want Doron Jockey Club to take better care of their properties as more than just the seawall is at stake.
He said this case and others like it provide an important lesson for all real estate professionals, and he fears there could be more tragedies if people don’t take action.
“In the climate of today, you need to go the extra mile to make sure that your client covers itself and takes care of any item that could possibly be a danger, as a failure to do so could have a dramatic impact on it financially and reputationally,” Waldman said. “If the lawyer doesn’t strongly protect his client or make all the necessary written recommendation, the lawyer may have significant exposure as well.”
A 2019 report from Miami engineering firm GFA International said the seawall was “deteriorating without any efforts on the part of Apeiron [now Doron] to complete the project or maintain the area.” The report was commissioned by the Jockey Club owners.
In the report, the engineers said if another hurricane like Irma hit the area, a 5.2-foot storm surge would cause “catastrophic damage to the incomplete and weakened seawall,” which would cause major erosion of the foundation and lead to complete structural failure. The firm suggested the repairs be made immediately.
Waldman said his clients don’t feel safe in light of the Surfside tragedy and requests monetary sanctions for every day Doron violates the 2019 court orders. The 24 repairs and capital improvements were to be completed by Nov. 21, 2019.
“Jockey I has litigated continuously since 1995 — more lawsuits than you can count on your fingers — and it has lost at nearly every turn. This lawsuit is just the next iteration of the same arguments Jockey I has been asserting for decades,” said Kate Barth, spokeswoman for Carlton Fields, who represents the defendant. “Doron has hosted monthly meetings to discuss how to improve the Jockey Club property and has gone above and beyond its legal obligations to try to live peaceably as neighbors. Jockey I has refused to attend the meetings, refused to make payments it is required to make, trespassed on Doron’s property, as well as many other things. Doron intends to vigorously defend the allegations in this lawsuit.”
According to Waldman, Doron has retaliated against the litigation by keeping residents out of the parking lot on the grounds they had been allowed to use.
“All our client is looking to do is have a safe building for its residents and have a return to the beautiful compound that is the Jockey Club that was in place prior to Aperion/Doron taking over the obligation of maintaining the property,” Waldman said.
In a press release, the owners of the units told elected officials that they’re facing a “grievous situation.”
“We have watched our quality of life continually deteriorate and live with a sense of the impending collapse of areas of the property,” said the units owners said in an open letter to the public.
A decision on Walman’s motion to enforce the 2019 order is expected shortly.
“We are hopeful but based on the track record of Aperion/Doron they are likely to do everything in their power to try to delay the completion of the work and the commensurate payment obligation to make it right,” Waldman said.
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