Passive House Condo Developer Sued Over Alleged Roof Cracks, Building Leaks
The condominium board at a luxury Boerum Hill development is suing the property’s developer, claiming buyers were sold shoddily constructed apartments where cracks are starting to emerge.
Nava Partners, run by Stewart Osborne and David Ruff, developed the building at 210 Pacific St. to Passive House standards of energy-efficiency, according to its website, touting triple-glazed windows and an advanced solar hot water system that provides "optimum energy independence while also creating a positive environmental impact."
But in a $5M lawsuit filed against Nava Partners, the building's residents claim that the construction of 210 Pacific didn't live up to its lofty billing, The Real Deal reports. The board alleges the substandard construction has left cracks in the roof, concrete and exterior walls. The specialty windows allegedly weren’t properly installed, either, and the building is now leaking badly, according to the suit.
The residents claim the situation is so bad that resales are being affected. In 2021, a three-bedroom there sold for $2.9M, and a year earlier an apartment traded for $5.9M, per StreetEasy. The residents say they informed Nava Partners of the construction failings seven years ago.
"We categorically reject all of the allegations contained in this suit and we will vigorously defend ourselves in court," Schwartz Sladkus Reich Greenberg Atlas LLP Partner Steven Sladkus said in a statement on behalf of Nava Partners. "We are confident that we will be fully vindicated in this process."
The eight-unit Boerum Hill building isn't the only luxury condo facing allegations of substandard construction. In 2021, Residents at 432 Park Ave. sued developers CIM Group and Macklowe Properties for $125M, arguing “sponsor malfeasance” left them dealing with a slew of problems including apartment floods and terrible noise. That suit sought damages to pay for 1,500 construction and design errors, and those damages may rise.
UPDATE, APRIL 25, 5 P.M. ET: This story has been updated to include comments from Steven Sladkus on behalf of Nava Partners.
