There’s major trouble brewing over dozens of alleged construction defects at the Trump Towers I, II, and III in Sunny Isles Beach.
In three separate lawsuits filed in Miami-Dade Circuit Court last week, the master condo association for the three buildings alleges that garages, facades and pool decks need extensive and expensive repairs due to shoddy work by the developers, The Related Group and Dezer Development.
The unit owners are collectively suing TRG Sunny Isles V, TRG Sunny Isles VI, and TRG Sunny Isles VII, three entities formed by Related and Dezer to develop the towers at 18001 Collins Avenue. The lawsuits also name general contractor John Moriarty and Associates of Florida, architecture firm Sieger Suarez Architects and engineering firms Steven Feller P.E. and CHM Structural Engineers LLC as defendants.
A Related spokesperson said the company is declining comment because it has not been served with the lawsuit. Dezer acquired all of Related’s interest in the project in 2010. Gil Dezer, principal owner of Dezer Development, also has not seen the complaint, but he downplayed the lawsuit’s impact in a written statement to The Real Deal.
Gil Dezer
“We have been working amicably with the association on claims that are typical in the turnover of every condo development,” Dezer said. “And if a lawsuit was filed, it was solely for the association to preserve its rights as evidenced by the fact that we were not served.”
Jeffrey Respler, a Coral Gables attorney representing the master association, did not return two phone calls and an email requesting comment. Representatives from John Moriarty, Sieger, Steven Feller ad CHM also did not respond for comment.
The complaint accuses the developers, the general contractor, the architect and the engineering firms of negligence. It also claims that improper design and improper construction led to 150 defects throughout the towers and the common areas.
Some of the alleged defects include cracks and delaminated stucco along the railing of the pool and sun decks; cracks in the floor slabs and ceilings of the garages; an uneven walking surface in the Tower I garage; excessive corrosion on multiple doors and frames; and water intrusion at multiple locations throughout the development site.