The developer of the St. Regis Residences in Rye claims that the architect was careless in designing and overseeing construction of the luxury condominium project.
Opra III LLC is demanding $5 million in damages from Perkins Eastman Architects DPC, in a complaint filed Aug. 1 in Westchester Supreme Court, accusing the Manhattan firm of negligence, professional malpractice and breach of contract.
Opra III and its contractors “had to create solutions and self-help designs and specifications on the fly” to overcome failures by Perkins Eastman, the complaint states, “increasing costs and delaying the project.”
Perkins Eastman did not reply to an email asking for its side of the story.
Opra III, an affiliate of Alfred Weissman Real Estate in Harrison, broke ground on the $100 million project in 2018, and finished the project a year-and-a-half late in mid-2022, according to court records.
The condominium on Old Post Road consists of five building with 92 apartments that are marketed to buyers where at least one is 55 or older.
It is managed by Marriott International and bills itself as the only St. Regis Residences in the world that does not include a hotel.
In the past 16 months, units have sold for $1,275,000 to $3,595,000, according to county property records.
Opra III claims that architectural designs and drawings were filled with errors and omissions that resulted in 13 clarification bulletins, seven plan addendums and about 1,000 requests for information.
Among the alleged shortcoming were drawings that failed to show mechanical, electrical and plumbing equipment; elevations; and lighting fixtures.
The developer says Perkins Eastman failed to properly coordinate work with its interior design, structural work and mechanical – electrical – plumbing – fire protection consultants.
The architectural firm also failed to properly staff the project, the complaint states, properly inspect the work or notify the developer of construction defects.
Opra III says it incurred tremendous costs to correct problems “in order to deliver a project worthy of the St. Regis and Marriott brands.”
The condominium project has spawned several lawsuits.
For instance, Hudson Meridian Construction Group, the construction manager, sued Opra III for $9.2 million this past March. And several subcontractors have sued Opra III and Hudson Meridian to enforce millions of dollars in mechanics liens.
Hudson Meridian claims in its pending lawsuit that Opra III produced flawed design and engineering documents and failed to pay it, as well as subcontractors, for some of their work.
Opra III broadly denied the allegations and filed counterclaims against Hudson, blaming project delays on the construction manager and subcontractors for providing insufficient resources to complete the project.
“Shortly after their move-in, new residents began to complain about shoddy construction work,” Opra III states in its May 16 answer to the Hudson Meridian lawsuit. “To date, many of the residents’ issues remain unaddressed and the project is still incomplete.”
