Owners at the Galleon, an oceanfront condominium on Fort Lauderdale's Galt Ocean Mile, say a repair project that began at $1.6 million has escalated into a $36 million overhaul.
Some unit owners have reportedly been hit with assessments ranging from $135,000 to $320,000 each.
Here's what to know
Five years into the job, work is still affecting several floors, and the pool and patio area has been reduced to a concrete platform, CBS News Miami reported.
Owners said they contacted the station because they grew increasingly frustrated with both the mounting price tag and the project's slow pace.
CBS identified one resident, Sergio Cella, as a pilot and mechanical engineer who has lived at the Galleon for three decades; he said repeated failed efforts to repair cracks on his 14th-floor balcony pushed him to his limit.
"The quality is not there," Cella said. "It's not questionable. It's despicable."
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The contractor said the project's cost grew as its scope changed during construction. In a written statement to CBS, an executive said, "The original contract covered the limited scope of structural restoration work. As construction progressed, the association elected to significantly expand the project through numerous owner-approved change orders and additional contracts."
Tensions also spilled into the building's leadership. The Galleon board president reportedly dismissed residents' concerns, saying, "You are being had. These are people who can't afford to live on the ocean," before ending the call. He later sold his unit and resigned.
More background
Board upheaval has unfolded alongside the renovation dispute, with recalls, lawsuits, and resignations involving the condo association.
Edward Rumin, a lawyer and former board member, said owners' confidence faded as the restoration became more expensive and harder to track.
"We were run roughshod over, not told things, and lied to," Rumin said. "Nobody likes assessments. We didn't like the numbers, but we went along with them. Until things got out of control and snowballed."
What's being done?
Since the 2021 collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, which killed 98 people, large condo repair efforts like this have become more common in Florida under state safety and reserve-funding mandates.
The effort can help prevent future tragedies, but it has also underscored how costly deferred maintenance can become once repairs can no longer be postponed.
"We are in a morass," Rumin concluded. "I don't think we'll ever get any of the money back."
Where can I learn more?
Coastal property can come with steep costs, physical risk, and fights with condo boards or HOAs. These articles cover flood-prone Florida real estate, beach homes threatened by erosion, and a dispute over property decisions.
• In Naples, Florida, a mansion sold despite a 99.9% risk of flood-driven destruction.
• On Nantucket, coastal erosion forced a billionaire to demolish a beachside home sliding toward the sea.
• Along North Carolina's Outer Banks, officials warned that homes are falling into the ocean.
• In the Hamptons, illegal wetland changes left a luxury home deemed uninhabitable amid backlash.
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