Real buildings. Real numbers. Real access potential for production.
A SIRS study identified facade damage, roof replacement, and pool deck restoration in a building only 16 years old. The board passed a $21M assessment in a 2-1 vote. Owners alleged violations of Florida law and the condo declaration. They organized, ousted the board president, and filed suit. A judge ordered the entire board replaced.
Even new buildings aren't safe. This demolishes the narrative that this is only about aging 1970s towers. It's systemic.
The 40-year recertification revealed massive repair needs. The board's engineer estimated $46 million. Owners hired their own engineer: $23 million. That's a $23 million disagreement — $97,000 per unit in dispute. Ten owners sued, alleging fraud, exaggerated measurements, and inclusion of cosmetic work disguised as structural repairs.
When two licensed engineers disagree by $23 million, who do you trust? This exposes the perverse incentives in the engineering-contractor pipeline.
Two Roads Development acquired 184 of 192 units, then moved to terminate the association. They planned three luxury Marriott Edition towers. They emptied the building and shut off utilities. Eight owners refused to leave. In March 2024, the appeals court ruled the termination illegal without all owners' consent. The Florida Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal. In January 2026, a judge ordered Two Roads to reinstate the association and repair the building.
The Wall Street Journal called it "a zombie on prime waterfront land."
The developer playbook — buy distressed, force termination, demolish, build luxury. This case broke the playbook. Now the zombie sits on Biscayne Bay, and nobody knows what happens next.
Eight days after Surfside, North Miami Beach ordered an audit. Crestview's management delivered an engineering report to the city on July 2 — a report dated from January that had been sitting for six months. It showed the building was structurally and electrically unsafe for continued occupancy. All 300+ residents were evacuated that evening. The building had been due for its 40-year recertification in 2012.
The report existed. It sat in a drawer for six months while people lived above it. The governance failure isn't hypothetical — it's documented.