NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The condos built on the former site of the Beckwith Pointe Beach Club promised luxury seaside living, but according to a new lawsuit, not all is well in paradise.
The Watermark Pointe Homeowners Association is suing contractors Zinrock Resources, Regional Construction Corporation, R.S. Granoff Architects, P.C. and Southport Engineering Associates for $5 million, according to a summons and complaint filed in Westchester County Supreme Court this month.
The HOA, which represents residents who paid between $1.5 million and $2.3 million for the homes which include access to a pool, clubhouse and private beach area, said in the suit that contractors failed to, in a good and workmanlike manner, comply with plans, follow building codes and were negligent in their practices.
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According to the court filings, the issues have already caused serious problems for the homeowners.
“Several pipes burst at the development during the winter,” the lawsuit alleges. “One of the pipes — which was hidden in an uninsulated attic space — wreaked havoc on the four apartments and the garage and ground floor lobby directly below it. An identically situated pipe in another building caused heavy damage to the unit below it. Other frozen and burst pipes caused less damage but made clear to the plaintiff HOA that a full-scale design and construction review was required.”
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Lawyers for the homeowners say an inspection revealed that uninsulated pipes were just the tip of the iceberg at the seaside gated community.
“That review discovered — as one would have expected — numerous issues, including systemic insulation and thermal envelope weaknesses across the community’s buildings,” the homeowners contend in the filing. “These are not necessarily sophisticated or difficult problems to remediate, but they are expensive. The HOA’s remediation contractor has estimated that not less than $5,000,000 will be required to correct the identified issues.”
The Watermark Pointe condominium development is at the very end of Davenport Ave., bounded by the Long Island Sound and New Rochelle Creek. The development is on 14 acres of land that was formerly the beach club. The property is surrounded by the Long Island Sound on three sides.
The development includes the 40-unit Watermark Pointe I in five 4-story buildings on 3 acres of land and 32 units in Watermark Pointe II in four 5-story buildings on 2 acres.
Named among the defendants is Zinrock Resources, a Delaware limited partnership with an address in Purchase. Zinrock is named as the developer of Watermark Pointe I & II and a sponsor of the HOA.
The lawsuit contends that Zinrock was aware of the issues, but has broken promises to address the deficiencies found.
“The defendant sponsor [Zinrock], for its part, inspected the damaged premises and since has refused to engage,” the lawsuit alleges. “This contrasts sharply with sponsor’s undertakings in its offering plans to ‘diligently, expeditiously and at its own cost, complete construction of the building substantially in accordance with the plans and specifications’ and to ‘diligently perform all of its obligations.'”
Lawyers for the HOA said that problems started long before any pipes burst.
“The condominium buildings were not constructed as designed as do not meet applicable codes, Sponsor [Zinrock] knew or should have known that the buildings were constructed with numerous design defects and construction deficiencies,” the HOA lawyers argue. “After being put on notice by the HOA of these issues, Sponsor failed and refused to do anything to remedy them.”
According to the allegations in the lawsuit, three buildings suffered water damage caused by failure of frozen pipes that were part of the fire protection system. Burst pipes caused sprinkler systems to discharge into concealed spaces above units. The court filings said that the damage required “wholesale demolition of the four units.”
The lawyers for the HOA say an inspection uncovered other troubling issues at Watermark Pointe.
“Findings also point to systemic issues in the design and construction of units’ outdoor terraces, as well as problems with deficient sealing and weatherstripping at and about the roofs of the buildings, and faulty design and installation of HVAC equipment,” court filings allege. “In all cases, the inspecting architects and engineers have discovered discrepancies between filed plans and specification and as-built plans, and noncompliance with applicable codes and good and workmanlike standards and practices.”
The HOA said a preliminary review also indicated significant deficiencies at the clubhouse and pool.
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