Miami architect Kobi Karp has filed a lawsuit against New York developers Joseph Chetrit and Jonathan Chetrit, alleging an unpaid debt of $660,800 for design work on the Miami River District project. The legal action was initiated in Miami-Dade Circuit Court and also names CG Miami River, the entity that owns the 6.2-acre development site near Brickell.
According to the complaint filed on January 13, CG Miami River did not make a required payment last month as outlined in a settlement agreement between the parties. Neither Karp, his attorney Alex Barthet, nor representatives for the Chetrits responded to requests for comment.
The Miami River District project, designed by Karp’s firm, underwent rebranding after Adam Neumann’s real estate company Flow partnered with Canada Global and Yakir Gabay’s Yellowstone Trust. This group acquired a majority stake from Chetrit Group in August of last year and provided a $525 million recapitalization to move forward with development.
CG Miami River recently amended its construction loan with Madison Realty Capital, increasing it by $9.5 million to bring the total mortgage to $310 million. As part of a prior settlement related to nearly $1 million in owed architecture fees, Karp withdrew a lien on the property so that refinancing could be completed.
The lawsuit states that while CG Miami River paid $300,000 at the time of closing on the new loan, it failed to pay the remaining balance by December 9 as agreed. The Chetrits are named as guarantors for this obligation.
This case adds another legal challenge surrounding a site that has been under redevelopment consideration by Chetrit for over ten years. Plans call for up to 1,900 apartments and condominiums within four million square feet of mixed-use space including retail outlets, office space, a marina with 17 slips and parking for 770 vehicles.
Construction is nearing completion on the first phase: a 54-story tower at 275 Southwest Sixth Street containing 632 apartments. Additional residential towers are planned as part of future phases. Flow is managing both current operations at the initial tower and will oversee further development as managing member of the project’s majority ownership; meanwhile, Joseph and Jonathan Chetrit have retained a minority stake.
