The Grand Condominium
 The Grand was developed in 1987. Located in the northern end of downtown Miami on Biscayne Bay, it is a 42 story (810 residential units, 400 commercial retail units) multi-use high-rise. The community was envisioned to be what we now call a TOD (transportation oriented development) given its close proximity to the People Mover linked to the larger Metro-Rail and in the hub of city and county government, as well as across the street from what was then retail powerhouse called the Omni Mall. In the early 80’s this was a hub for well-to-do South American tourists and visitors. Unfortunately the economic downturn caused by oversupply of condominium units on the southern side of downtown (Brickell Avenue) resulted in the developer only being able to sell 100 residential units and by December of 1989, in lieu of foreclosure, the developer deeded the remaining units to the consortium of banks acting as project lender. Between 1987 and 1992, ownership and management of the remaining inventory shifted creating inconsistency in operations and fiscal management of the community.
In 1992, after Hurricane Andrew, The Continental Group was hired and the on-site staff supported by corporate operations has been a stabilizing element to this community’s evolution. By 1996 the remaining residential units were sold to end users and today The Grand is a highly coveted residential community that is steps away from the newly opened, world-class facilities at the Carnival Center for the Performing Arts Center. Offering unobstructed vistas of Biscayne Bay and the stability of tried and true fiscal, administrative and physical operations, The Grand offers its residents what the dozens of new construction buildings are just starting to develop – a home.
Some of the operational challenges confronted by The Continental Group management team have included:
- Reorganizing staff structure to meet the evolving needs of the community ranging from 100 residents to 300 to well over 900 residents today.
- Sufficient parking for a fully occupied building – due to the foreclosure of the developer, a covenant between the original developer and the city for valet service became an issue and was successfully resolved with valet service being provided now for each floor of the parking garage.
- Latent defects in original HVAC equipment that emerged as building occupancy rose – retrofitting all 810 units was undertaken to address service needs. Although the Declaration clearly attributed responsibility to the individual unit owners, the Board of Directors ultimately made the business decision to treat this element as a common expense to facilitate and protect the interests of the overall Association.
- Turnover of the association and amending Declaration – several classes of voting members were defined within the original covenants of the association. The Declaration had to be amended at the time of the lender’s foreclosure to address parking issues and other constraints, however the successor developer held a majority of the voting classes due to the 400 commercial units overriding all other voting classes. The management team successfully facilitated negotiations among all the parties and legal counsel to resolution.
| 
