Miami architect Kobi Karp is taking New York developers Joseph Chetrit and Jonathan Chetrit to court over an alleged $660,800 debt tied to design work for a $1 billion Miami River megaproject that Adam Neumann’s Flow took over last year.
Karp’s namesake firm sued the father-and-son duo and the entity that owns the 6.2-acre Miami River District development site near Brickell, in Miami-Dade Circuit Court. The entity, CG Miami River, allegedly failed to make the payment last month as required by a settlement agreement, the Jan. 13 complaint states.
Karp, his lawyer Alex Barthet and the Chetrits did not respond to requests for comment.
The Karp-designed project was recently rebranded as Flow on the Miami River after Neumann’s Miami-based real estate firm, called Flow, partnered with Canada Global and Yakir Gabay’s Yellowstone Trust to acquire a majority stake in the project in August from New York-based Chetrit Group.
Neumann and partners provided a $525 million recapitalization.
Meanwhile, CG Miami River modified a $310 million construction loan with Madison Realty Capital, increasing the mortgage by $9.5 million, records show.
Karp withdrew a lien placed on the property in August so the Chetrits could close on the refinancing, under the terms of a settlement agreement to pay nearly $1 million in owed architecture fees, the lawsuit states.
Karp’s lawsuit alleges CG Miami River paid $300,000 when the loan closed but failed to pay the balance by a Dec. 9 deadline. The Chetrits signed as guarantors, per the complaint.
Karp’s lawsuit is the latest legal wrinkle around a Miami River site that Chetrit has been trying to redevelop for more than a decade. The 4-million-square-foot project could eventually include up to 1,900 apartments and condos, 39,000 square feet of retail, office space, a 17-slip marina and 770 parking spaces.
The first phase, a 54-story tower with 632 apartments at 275 Southwest Sixth Street, is nearly completed. The project includes at least two other residential high-rises. Flow is managing the first tower and will lead development of the rest of the project as managing member of the majority ownership. The Chetrits retained a minority interest.
