Fort Lauderdale condo's $1.6 million repair grows into $36 million overhaul, frustrating residents

Residents of the Galleon condominium on Fort Lauderdale's Galt Ocean Mile say a concrete restoration project that began at $1.6 million has grown into a $36 million overhaul, with individual unit owners assessed between $135,000 and $320,000 each.

Work at the oceanfront building has been underway for five years. Construction spans multiple floors, and the pool and patio, once a beachside oasis, have been reduced to a concrete platform.

Residents frustrated by the length and cost of the work contacted CBS News Miami.

Sergio Cella, a pilot and mechanical engineer who has lived at the Galleon for 30 years, said that after three failed attempts to fix cracking on his 14th-floor balcony, he has had enough.

"The quality is not there," Cella said. "It's not questionable. It's despicable."

Hartzel, the contractor, defended the work in a written statement to CBS News Miami.

"The original contract covered the limited scope of structural restoration work," an executive said. "As construction progressed, the association elected to significantly expand the project through numerous owner-approved change orders and additional contracts."

The building's board has also been in turmoil, with recalls, lawsuits, and resignations.

When CBS News Miami reached the Galleon's board president by phone about residents' concerns, he dismissed the complaints.

"You are being had," he said. "These are people who can't afford to live on the ocean."

He then hung up. In recent days, the board president sold his unit and resigned.

Edward Rumin, a lawyer and former board member, said the project got out of hand.

"We were run roughshod over, not told things, and lied to," Rumin said. "Nobody likes assessments. We didn't like the numbers, but we went along with them. Until things got out of control and snowballed."

Large condo restorations like the Galleon's have become common across Florida since the 2021 collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, which killed 98 people and led to state-mandated safety requirements and reserve funding rules.

"We are in a morass," Rumin said. "I don't think we'll ever get any of the money back."