The Beach Sound condominium complex along the Tequesta oceanfront is about to get much bigger.
Palm Beach County commissioners have approved the waivers needed for a new eight-story, 130,000-square-foot building that will replace the current 40-year-old Beach Sound, which is only four stories and 22,000 square feet.
Critics call the new building “The Beast of Beach Sound.”
The new building will continue to have just 12 units, the same as the current building. But each unit will be much larger than the existing ones. The condo communities to the north and south opposed the waivers, arguing that the new Beach Sound would be much too close to their buildings and would hurt their property values.
After more than two hours of testimony, in support and opposition, the commission voted 6-0 to approve the project. Commissioners seemed sympathetic to the argument presented by Brian Seymour, the developer’s lawyer.
In light of the Surfside tragedy, he said there are two options for owners of older condos: “Either lose everything or try to sell out.”
Four years ago, a 12-story beachfront condominium in the Miami-Dade County town of Surfside collapsed, causing the deaths of 98 people. The Florida Legislature then revised building codes to require condo buildings to conduct safety inspections in hopes of preventing the collapses of older buildings. To avoid the expense of making multimillion-dollar repairs, some condo owners have opted to sell their buildings to developers.
Eleven of the 12 condo owners at Beach Sound sold out to the development group associated with the Kolter Group. The only holdouts were Ed and Karen Rado. In a statement read by their lawyer, Jonathon Chane, they called it “troubling that the Surfside tragedy was used as justification for this variance. What is the basis for invoking Surfside, or are they simply preying on fear?”
According to the Rados, the developers paid existing owners “life-changing money” to sell out.
And land-use lawyer Seth Behn, representing the Claridge condo complex, said “the notion of placing an eight-plus-story building only 25 feet from Beach Sound Road is clearly not compatible with the established neighborhood. Thus, we again have a proposal that seeks to create a building that is out of character with the neighborhood to shoehorn an extraordinarily large building onto a little over half an acre of buildable land.”
Nicole Sylvester, though, whose mother owns a unit in Beach Sound, called the existing building “outdated,” noting that the new one will be state-of-the-art, with advanced life safety and storm protection for owners.
Critic of new Beach Sound says nothing wrong with old condos
A year ago, Palm Beach County commissioners approved allowing beachfront condos in unincorporated areas to seek waivers from setback requirements to help redevelop older beachfront buildings. Without the changes, Seymour said, redevelopment could not occur.
The request for waivers will be reviewed on “a case-by-case basis,” but Ed O’Sullivan, a resident at Claridge, said approving the waivers for Beach Sound sets a dangerous precedent.
“What is wrong with old buildings? Saving old things has some value,” O’Sullivan testified. “This little building is fine. The only problem is a lack of maintenance. If they are going replace it and build new, do it at the right scale.”
According to the Claridge, the close proximity of Beach Sound will increase wind velocity. O’Sullivan said it is expected to cost each Claridge owner more than $200,000 to protect units in case of a hurricane strike as a result of the wind tunnel that will be created by the new building.
Beach Sound to have lobby, underground garage, fitness room, lounge
The ground floor of the new building will have a lobby. It will house administrative offices, a fitness room, a yoga studio and a lounge area. Floors 2 through 6 will have two residences; floors 7 and 8 will have just one unit. The complex will include an underground parking garage.
The commission meeting was contentious at times. More than 40 speakers expressed opinions in person or sent emails. The issue has been debated for more than a year.
The developer’s planner, Josh Long, acknowledged that the new building will be higher than the existing one but it is consistent with the height of other nearby condo buildings in the area. It will be not as tall as the Claridge to the north but larger than the Ocean Sound to the south.
Seymour accused O’Sullivan of spreading misinformation about the project. He said O’Sullivan is paying the legal fees of the Rados to challenge the decision of the other 11 owners to sell the building. It is not clear whether the Rados’ decision to hold out could block the developer from moving forward with its redevelopment plan.
The Kolter Group and local developer Phil Perko bought out the 11 owners last year. The unit owners voted 11-1 in November to terminate the association. The developers argue that they need to make the current building bigger and wider for the project to be economically feasible. They are complying with the requirement that the building not increase the number of units.
Seymour said the developer’s wind engineer shows only a slight increase in wind, not enough to have an adverse impact. He noted its engineers have concluded that the underground garage can be safely built and that steps have been taken to minimize shade issues.
O’Sullivan, though, said the adverse impacts of having the new Beach Sound so close to the Claridge has lowered property values. One owner recently saw his values decrease by $1 million when he sold his unit, he said. Seymour called on the commission not to consider the claim without O’Sullivan providing proof.
Mike Diamond is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. He covers Palm Beach County government. You can reach him at mdiamond@pbpost.com. Help support local journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: To dismay of neighbors, Tequesta oceanfront condo complex will get modern makeover
Reporting by Mike Diamond, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
