Florida’s Supreme Court declined to take up the Biscayne 21 condo buyout case.
A brief recap to bring you up to speed: In 2022, Taylor Collins and Reid Boren’s Two Roads Development acquired the majority of condos at Biscayne 21, an older Miami condo building in Edgewater. The developer-controlled condo association then voted to amend the condo declaration’s termination statute, lowering the threshold to 80 percent from 100 percent. (A termination of the association is a required legal step so the developer could eventually knock the building down.)
Two Roads, which financed the bulk purchase with a $45 million mezz loan from Lionheart Strategic Management LLC and a $105 million senior mortgage from Bank OZK, launched sales later that year of an Edition Residences planned for the site.
Then, the holdout owners sued the developer and the developer-controlled association. All the residents eventually had to move out, and the building is no longer habitable.
The lawsuit has moved its way through the courts, and the Third District Court of Appeal issued an opinion earlier this year siding with the holdout unit owners. The court affirmed that the original condo declaration required unanimous consent for termination, invalidating the developer-controlled association’s amendment.
Long story short, this was very bad news for the developer, and good news for the holdout owners.
But the developer vowed to take the issue to Florida’s Supreme Court. Only, the state’s highest court declined to hear the issue.
Now, the developer has no other way to appeal, and no leverage with the holdout owners. Two Roads declined to comment on its next steps.
The attorneys and other experts I’ve spoken to say that two paths exist: the developer settles with the holdout owners, possibly with a new equity partner who can help recapitalize the project, or the developer-controlled association is forced to repair the building and make it habitable again, operating it as a condo building that is primarily rentals. The latter seems less likely.
David Podein, an attorney at Haber Law who is not involved in the case, said the market may guide the solution.
“At the end of the day it is an extremely prime piece of waterfront property,” Podein said.
Most expect the developer to settle with the holdout owners, but how does Two Roads do that with the debt it owes?
Glen Waldman, the holdout owners’ lawyer, said the lenders will be a key part of how this moves forward. Waldman said the case returns to state court, and he will amend his pleadings to go after the developer for more than $100 million in damages.
Two Roads, he said, is “in a terrible position and they deserve it. They’ve destroyed [my clients] homes with no right. Now we go after them like there’s no tomorrow.”
What we’re thinking about: How will Nahla Capital move the Raleigh Miami Beach project forward now that it’s taken the project over from Michael Shvo? Send me a note at [email protected].
CLOSING TIME
Residential: Developer Mark Pulte sold the oceanfront spec mansion at 701 South Ocean Boulevard in Delray Beach to a trust for $59 million. The mansion, completed two years ago, spans 14,000 square feet.
Commercial: Miami-based Cofe Properties’ acquired two warehouses, the Milam Dairy Commerce Center I and II at 6700 Northwest 72nd Avenue and 7205 Northwest 68th Street in Medley for $26.8 million. Miami-based Prudence Investments, which had bought the properties in the 1980s and 1990s for a combined $1.9 million, sold the warehouses.
— Research by Mary Diduch
NEW TO THE MARKET
Developer Armando Codina and his wife, Margarita, listed their waterfront estate at 50 Casuarina Concourse in Coral Gables for $45 million. Their six-bedroom, eight-and-a-half-bathroom home spans about 13,400 square feet on a 1.1-acre lot. It’s listed with BHHS EWM Realty’s Scott Shuffield. The mansion, built in 1997, features a 2,000-bottle wine cellar, hand-painted dining room, and a large owner’s suite. The couple paid $1.2 million for the property in 1995. The Codinas plan to move to a luxury apartment building Codina Partners is building in Coral Gables.
A thing we’ve learned:
Miami-Dade commissioners approved new legislation to make community composting easier and cheaper, according to the Miami Herald. The legislation could help ease the county’s landfill crisis and curb methane emissions by diverting tens of thousands of tons of organic waste from landfills.
Elsewhere in Florida
- The Florida House unveiled eight bills aimed at cutting property taxes, primarily benefiting homeowners with homestead exemptions, according to the Tallahassee Democrat. The measures, which would appear on the 2026 ballot, are in response to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ call for property tax relief.
- Donna Adelson, the matriarch of a South Florida family, was sentenced to life in prison without parole after a jury found her guilty of having her son-in-law, law professor Daniel Markel, assassinated, Inside Edition reports. She plans to appeal.
- A Florida judge temporarily halted the transfer of Miami Dade College’s site next to the Freedom Tower in downtown Miami that’s intended for Donald Trump’s presidential library, citing alleged open government violations, CBS Miami reports.
