Article Courtesy of The Sun Sentinel

By Patty Pensa

Published July 8, 2009 

Construction on the Eden was supposed to wrap up five years ago, but the long-delayed project has left Andrew Gay and others to make their homes amid a construction site.

"I look out of my veranda at a building that is basically a skeleton," said Gay, who bought a $475,000 condo about three years ago in the only completed buildings at the site. "My main concerns are to get the project complete and to get what I bargained for."

Ceebraid-Signal Corp. of West Palm Beach in 2003 announced it would convert an apartment complex at 300 W. Palmetto Park Road into a luxury, resort-style condominium. Plans included a clubhouse with fitness center and basketball and racquetball courts.

Gay is still waiting for the finished product.

Three hurricanes and then sky-high construction costs stalled the project, roiling residents. The City Council has extended building permits three times and will consider the issue at a special meeting at 6 p.m. July 27 at City Hall.

"I am concerned that the developer is not prepared to move forward," said Mayor Susan Whelchel. "My goal is to work with the neighbors that live there and those that are trying to get out of the mess the developer has put them in."

The city's latest permit extension expires Sept. 21. But city officials say Ceebraid has been in default since mid-May because of incomplete permit revisions. The developer has disputed the city's interpretation of their permitting agreement but the company's principal and a representative could not be reached to comment on Monday despite calls to their offices.

In September, Ceebraid submitted plans to convert the condo project back to rentals. Earlier in 2008, there was talk of an assisted living facility and senior homes on the site. The developer in the past offered to buy back condos from the few residents living there.

Whelchel said the City Council granted Ceebraid permit extensions to allow time for construction. But withholding another extension might get the developer to act, she said, either selling the property or declaring bankruptcy on it.

"He has to do something," Whelchel said of Ceebraid principal Adam Schlesinger. "We tried to force his hand by giving him the extension to finish, but he hasn't done that."

The developer has put up $750,000 in letters of credit. The remaining $250,000 commitment, as the city required in 2007, is due when the city issues the project's building permit. The city has not decided what it would do with the money.

Ceebraid also has not paid its permit fees, an amount that is disputed, said Jorge Camejo, development services director. The city estimated permit fees at about $300,000 and returned a check the developer sent for $108,000 for those fees.

"We're concerned that extending this at this point in time doesn't really accomplish anything," Camejo said. "It's not at all likely that this project will meet that [September] deadline."