JENSEN BEACH, Fla. — The owners of 72 units at Villa Del Sol, a condominium association in Jensen Beach, will have to decide whether to sell the property or repair three, structurally deficient condominium buildings.
People haven’t been able to live in their beachside property for six months after a third party inspection found issues with the foundation at three buildings on the property.
WATCH BELOW: Condo owner Robert Segedin shares his sentiments with WPTV
Records WPTV obtained show the condominium board is weighing various solutions, each with their own problems.
Robert Segedin, who, property records show, owns one of the units blocked off with a fence, said he wants the board to rebuild the buildings. He said he bought a condo about 20 years ago and considers it the “primest” area of real estate on Hutchinson Island with views of the Atlantic Ocean.
“The most frustrating thing is, it seems like something was taken away from you that you possessed,” Segedin said. “…I want to fix it. I want them to fix it, nice.”
Three of the six buildings on the property are currently inhabitable, because of structural damage. People are still living in the other three buildings. However, the condominium board said all units have to face the financial burden from rebuilding equally across all 72 units in a memorandum to owners dated February 6.
The memorandum estimated the special assessment would cost each condo owner about $86,000.
However, the estimation didn’t include if the work done to the building exceeded 50% of the appraised buildings value.
If this happened, then the memorandum said they would have to bring the three inhabitable buildings to current building code. This would become problematic because the Florida Department of Environmental Protection doesn’t allow people to build seaward of a line called the Coastal Construction Control Line. In this case, the three buildings are east of the line.
The board said this would require they demolish the three buildings. Then rebuild the buildings west of the line, closer to Ocean Drive. The memorandum didn’t provide an estimate for this work.
According to the memorandum, the board is also looking at selling the entire property. For this to occur, the board said virtually each unit on the property would have to agree to terminate the condominium association then put the land on the market. This would allow a buyer to purchase the property.
Then the board said the county would allow a potential buyer to build up to 72 units on the property or ask county officials for a zoning change.
The likelihood of consensus to terminate the association, at least for now, is unlikely as people like Segedin don’t want to sell the property to anybody.
"That would burn me up," he told WPTV’s Ethan Stein. "This is once in a lifetime oceanfront home. I don’t even want to tell you how many years it took me to get here. I worked my a— to get here."
The memorandum also said six of 34 owners surveyed voted to rebuild the three buildings. It also said the board reached out to a private company, Condominium Advisory Group, to develop and manage the termination of Villa Del Sol.
According to a different memorandum dated January 15, Condominium Advisory Group recommended the board and owners conduct workshops to determine the feasibility of raising funds to repair the property.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Villa Del Sol condo owners postpone repair costs
It also said the county could at some point levy fines against the association and could begin more intense inspections at the other buildings on the property.
Erick Gill, who is a spokesperson for St. Lucie County, said there was no fees being assessed and staff has worked with association on a variety of options to move forward while following building code. He also said he didn’t know what the advisory group was referring to in its memorandum regarding fines.
“The hope is that the association will work to get the structure safe again, and at this time there are no fees being assessed,” he wrote.
WPTV's previous coverage on Villa Del Sol:
Jensen Beach
Villa Del Sol condo owners say 'nobody wants to spend any more money' on repairs
Jensen Beach
The cost to fix these unsafe condos is still in the millions
Jensen Beach
GALLERY: Photos for inspection at Villa Del Sol condos on Aug. 8, 2024.
Jensen Beach
COST CONCERNS: Residents at this complex face over $9M in repairs
Jensen Beach
'SEVERELY COMPROMISED': Why report for Villa del Sol condos will take weeks
Jensen Beach
'EXTENSIVE CORROSION': Engineering report shows why condos evacuated
Region Martin County
Inspection report to show why Villa del Sol condo owners were forced to leave
Jensen Beach
'They’re homeless:' Residents left with unanswered questions after evacuation
State
'I'VE NEVER HEARD OF IT': New laws on condos still a mystery to some
Jensen Beach
'COMPLETELY CRACKED': New video shows severity of evacuated condos' foundation
Region Martin County
