Biscayne Bay condo resident holding out against forced eviction by real estate developer

MIAMI ā€“ One man is the lone holdout still living in a high rise condo building on Biscayne Bay.

He took his eviction to court.

There also may be a pattern from the developer when it comes to clearing out residents.

Bay Parc is a condo building located on Bayshore Drive in Miami.

On the 23rd floor, residents have moved out and construction is underway.

Residents on the 22nd floor appear to be next. They received a memo that all leases would be terminated in mid-November.

The shock they received was similar to the experience residents of Hamilton on the Bay received last summer.

That building, located 17 blocks away from Bay Parc, is also owned by real estate investment company Amico.

District commissioner Ken Russell heard an earful from Hamiltonā€™s residents.

ā€œIn Miami, the development play seems to buy as cheap as you can and then either get new entitlements to increase your value or do a massive overhaul to increase your value,ā€ said Russell.

Hamilton on the Bay condo building in Miami (WPLG)

Steven Leidner is the sole holdout there, fighting the eviction in court. Leidner is alleging Aimco encouraged them to sign new leases, then enforced early termination clauses they had promised would not be used.

ā€œHe assured us up and down he had no intentions of evicting us,ā€ Leidner said.

Local 10 News obtained a copy of the lease, and it does say that no renovations were planned.

Aimco said they suddenly discovered a critically unsafe sewer system as the reason they tripped the early termination clauses.

Local 10 News asked for that documentation but have not yet received it.

ā€œIā€™m asking my building department for a back check on the documents,ā€ Russell said. ā€œI know this building was going through its 30ā€“40-year certification to see whether any surprises were found.ā€


About the Author:

Glenna Milberg joined Local 10 News in September 1999 to report on South Florida's top stories and community issues. She also serves as co-host on Local 10's public affairs broadcast, "This Week in South Florida."