Owners of condo units at Villa Riviera Club in unincorporated Brevard County will be facing a hefty special assessment in the coming months.

The four-building, 29-unit, oceanside condominium complex will have to do more than $1.2 million worth of balcony and walkway work. Combined with planned stucco repairs, painting of the buildings, other needed repairs and a contingency cost in case unexpected problems are found, that will result in special assessment bills of $50,000 per unit, pending owner approval of certain alterations. "You never know what you're going to find when you open these up" for repairs, said Rebecca McGreal, president of the Villa Riviera Club Condominium Association. And that $50,000 special assessment is on top of a regular condo assessment that totals $13,344 a year per unit. Brevard County complex taking 'proactive approach' to inspections McGreal said a number of condo owners understandably were not happy about the expected cost of the special assessment. "There was a very mixed reaction," with pushback from some of the unit owners, McGreal said. "Some of them were very upset with the board. But they know the work needs to get done. We're playing catch-up with some of this now." McGreal said the board's decision was unanimous, although she added that "it was a difficult decision." The issues with the balconies and walkways were quantified during a "Phase Two" structural milestone inspection report at the 50-year-old condo complex, which has two three-story buildings and two two-story buildings. The complex is off State Road A1A, not far from three municipalities ? Melbourne, Indialantic and Indian Harbour Beach.

This 2023 photo, from an engineering inspection report for the oceanside Villa Riviera Club condominium complex in unincorporated Brevard County, shows extensive water damage to the wood truss system, stucco/lathe and soffit/fascia on a wood-frame balcony. The complex's wood balconies were removed earlier this year in preparation for an extensive repair project that will include replacement of the balconies.

 

McGreal said the association's board "took a very proactive approach," by including the two-story buildings in the so-called milestone inspection process. The board decided to do that, even though state laws approved in 2022 required that only condo buildings of three stories or more that are at least 30 years old undergo such inspections.

"We had some serious concerns about the construction integrity of the balconies," McGreal said. "We are not going to ignore our responsibilities."

Problems detailed in inspection report

A 69-page inspection report prepared by Tomas Ponce, a structural engineer with Keystone Engineering & Consulting, found that the wooden balconies on the two-story buildings had "a moderate to severe amount ofwood rot and damage to the balconies. The damage is most likely caused by water intrusion through the roofing material, which does not typically make an ideal balcony floor covering. Leaks also develop at the railing penetrations and near the sliding glass doors. The water intrusion has caused corrosion and deterioration of the stucco and lathe, as well as the soffit and fascia."

Additionally, the report said the walking surface "is covered in roofing material that is not proper for a pedestrian use surface and showing signs of wear. The aged railings’ fasteners are most likely causing water intrusion, due to improper installation and lack of sealant. Parts of the top rail are missing, and connections to the wall are not tight."

The report recommended that, "for these safety reasons, all wood-frame balconies on the two-story buildings should be fully restricted from access to all guests and owners. For these balconies, it is recommended to demolish all of them and replace them with a new design appropriate for a coastal application."

That's what the condo association board is planning to do, McGreal said, with the wooden balconies taken down earlier this year in advance of replacing them with aluminum framing and composite decking material.

On the three-story buildings, which have concrete balconies, "the inspection revealed a moderate amount of concrete spalling on the balconies and walkways," the report noted. "The concrete spalling is due to reinforcing steel corrosion induced by water and chloride (salt) intrusion. The damage was found throughout the inspected elements. It is an expected level of cyclic concrete spalling for an older coastal property. For the balconies and walkways, we recommend to strip the floor coatings; remove the older, cored railings; make needed concrete repairs; apply a decorative and protective coating system; install new surface mount railings."

Issues with stairs, stair railings, shutters, exterior walls and windowsills also were detailed in the report.

The report included 46 photos depicting examples of various problems with the condo buildings, and concluded that "the complex is in need of a comprehensive restoration project at this time."

'Very, very serious' about condo repair work

"We are very, very serious about this," McGreal said, referring to the plan to fix the problems. Work is scheduled to begin in the end of the spring or beginning of the summer of 2025, and is expected to take seven months to complete.

"This is not going to be inexpensive," McGreal said, with unit owners required to start making payments on the special assessment 30 to 60 days before the work begins.

Most of the units have two bedrooms and two bathrooms, with a kitchen and a living room. Some also have garages. The latest unit sale, in May, was at a price of $440,000.

Of the 29 units, 21 are regularly rented out by the owners as vacation rentals; three are occupied by the owners year-round; four are occupied by the owners part of the year; and one is used as office space.

McGreal — who lives in the Chicago area — rents out her Villa Riviera unit as a vacation rental, and she and her husband vacation there themselves several weeks a year.

Condo units will be temporarily closed on a staggered basis while the work progresses.

Mike and Stephanie Prousis own two of the units ? one that they bought in 1981 and the other in 2018 — that they rent out as vacation rentals. The couple — who live in Franklin, Tennessee ? typically vacation in one of their Villa Riviera Club units themselves for two to three weeks a year.

"I don't think anybody wants to pay $50,000" per unit for the special assessment, Stephanie Prousis said. "But it's your home, and you have to keep it up. I think it's a pretty darn good investment. It's definitely the diamond in the rough," considering the Villa Riviera's location just off a pristine beach.

Prousis said she supports the condo board's plans for repairing the complex, because "it's all been about the safety. We've got a fabulous group that is looking out for our best interests."

However, McGreal noted some other owners are putting their homes on the market for sale, which she believes partly is related to the upcoming special assessment.

"It's sad to see some of these owners go," McGreal said. "It's a sign of the times, unfortunately, throughout Florida. The cost of the assessment is definitely impacting their decision."