AC Breaks at Two Roads’ Edgewater Condo Buyout Target

The air conditioning broke down at a waterfront condo building in Edgewater that’s at the center of a dispute over its buyout, as South Florida experiences record heat.

Two Roads Development, which completed a bulk purchase of units at Biscayne 21 last year, is working to get a portable chiller installed to fix the HVAC system issue, according to a copy of an email the management company sent to residents, obtained by The Real Deal. It broke on Monday afternoon, and could be fixed Thursday or Friday, Two Roads said.

Recent feels-like temperatures in Miami have topped 105 degrees, leading to a four-day heat advisory extending from this past Monday until 8 p.m. on Thursday.

Two Roads paid $150 million for the majority of the 192-unit condo building at 2121 North Bayshore Drive. The 13-story building was built in 1964 on a 3.5-acre lot that overlooks the bay.

The remaining 30 or so residents, a combination of tenants renting from the developer and holdout owners who are fighting the developer’s termination of the condominium in court, were offered portable air conditioning units, said Lawrence Pecan, deputy general counsel for Two Roads.

One tenant renting from the developer said that only about a third of the remaining residents were accommodated, which Two Roads disputes.

Pecan said TRD Biscayne, the Two Roads affiliate that owns the property, allowed tenants to stay after their leases expired on May 31. Many are paying rent and some are paying discounted rent. The building’s amenities spaces were shut down in early July.

The record heat has put pressure on older HVAC systems. Earlier this month, residents in three of the Four Ambassadors condo buildings in Brickell went a week without working A/C, NBC 6 reported.

In May, 10 owners of eight condos at Biscayne 21 filed a lawsuit alleging they were “manipulated, bullied, deceived and pressured” to sell their units to the developer. The unit owners who are trying to block the condo termination allege the developer-controlled association illegally amended the condo declaration to lower the requirement for termination to 80 percent of owners, from 100 percent, according to the complaint.

Two Roads, led by managing partners Reid Boren and Taylor Collins, plans a three-tower luxury condo branded by Marriott International’s Edition on the site.