SUNRISE, Fla. – Residents of one condominium complex in Sunrise could soon be forced out of their homes. Several buildings have been deemed unsafe and residents have been left blindsided.
A doorbell camera captured city employees at the Grenadier Lakes of Welleby condos near Northwest 94th Avenue and Oakland Park Boulevard.
Units in several buildings received this notice on the door, saying the building was deemed unsafe. Unless the structure is shored up by Monday at noon, residents will need to leave immediately.
“I actually ended up having a panic attack at work and had to leave work for the rest of the day today,” resident Bailey Harris said.
Several residents Local 10 News spoke to said this adds insult to injury.
“I’m at the point of having a stroke because of all this,” resident Carmen Rivera said.
Documents show their fees and assessments have gone up by hundreds of dollars over the last several years, but with a tennis court in disrepair, a locked swimming pool and some ceilings lined with plastic, they say they don’t know where their money is going.
“In 2020, we were assessed for $350,000 to fix a couple of landings,” Rivera said. “$3.5 million alone was done back in 2021. Now they’re going to hit us with a $4.5 million assessment for what? To do the same thing?”
Resident Justin Marshall added, “They originally wanted to pay it off in a year, meaning that we were all going to pay an extra $30,000 on top of a mortgage and homeowners’ association.”
The board is set to vote on a $4.5 million assessment fee Wednesday. One resident has filed for an emergency injunction to block the vote.
“We’re just asking for transparency,” resident AJ Phillips said.
With the added uncertainty of the notices at their doors, residents worry they’ll be out of pocket and out of a home.
“I feel like the people in this complex are being duped and a lot of us are about to lose everything that we have,” Harris said.
Sunrise city officials said that the condo association has hired a company to do the shoring work.
Residents held an emergency meeting Friday evening to figure out their next steps.