Fort Partners will proceed with its
buyout of a West Palm Beach condominium following a legal
skirmish with Related Ross that ended in a settlement last
week, The Real Deal has learned.
The legal battle that started with a Related Ross affiliate
filing a request for an injunction in April came to a close
on Friday, Oct. 17, when Steve Ross’ Related and Nadim
Ashi’s Fort Partners settled out of court, Ashi’s attorney
Glen Waldman confirmed. The terms of the deal were not
disclosed, but Waldman confirmed Fort Partners plans to move
forward with a condo termination for Harbor Towers, the
2-acre, two-building, 61-unit complex at 3901 South Flagler
Drive.
Representatives for Related did not respond to immediate
requests for comment.
While it was the fight for control of Harbor Towers that
precipitated the legal battle, the true scope of the
developers’ entanglement spans three waterfront sites
totaling nearly 4.3 waterfront acres. It’s a sizable swath
of waterfront land across the Intracoastal Waterway from
Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club, at a time when few
waterfront sites in West Palm Beach remain.
The sites they targeted include Harbor Towers, as well as
the 60-unit condominium Southbridge at 3915 South Flagler
Drive and a multifamily complex at 3907 South Flagler Drive
and 3906 Washington Road.
Related and Fort Partners made competing offers to owners at
Southbridge last year, with Related’s $42 million bid
winning out. The price works out to $700,000 per unit, in a
building where the property appraiser estimates market value
for most units at about $200,000. Records show Related
affiliate Southbridge Acquisitions LLC has closed on 17
units since December. It is unclear if or when Related plans
to close on the remaining units.
Ashi’s affiliate WPB S Flagler Owner LLC bought the adjacent
apartment complex at 3906 Washington Road and 3907 South
Flagler Drive for $20 million in November, records show.
Related’s affiliate Harbor Towers Acquisitions LLC and
Ashi’s affiliate WPB Harbor Towers Acquisition LLC started
inking competing deals with Harbor Towers in the spring.
Waldman said Fort had deals in place with the majority of
units and had secured control of the condo board when the
Related affiliate filed its suit in Palm Beach County
Circuit Court in April, requesting an injunction to block
Fort’s changes to the condominium declaration. The legal
fight escalated in September, when Related filed motions for
protective orders to block the deposition of Steve Ross and
Related executive vice president Jordan Bargas. Fort’s
attorneys responded, accusing Related of stalling under the
guise of settlement talks. Two weeks later, a deal was
signed.
Fort’s attorney, Waldman, who represents the holdout owners
in the Biscayne 21 case against Two Roads Development, said
he was comfortable representing a developer in this case
because of the prices Fort Partners offered in its buyout.
Recorded sales to Fort’s Harbor Towers affiliate range in
price from $1 million to $3.3 million, more than double the
market values assessed by the property appraiser.
“The amount of money being offered was significantly in
excess of what [the units] were worth,” he said. “These
owners were making so much money, there are no losers here.”