East C Concrete Project

The Jupiter Bay Board of Directors voted at their 4/11/24 Board Meeting to accept an $857,555 bid from Daniello Construction for East C building concrete restoration.  This bid was in response to Swaysland Engineering's 1/24/24 East C building Concrete Restoration Inspection Report.

Following is a summary of the report's contents:

1. Inspection Date: Swaysland Professional Engineering Consultants, Inc. (SPEC) performed an inspection of the private balconies, public walkways, and building exterior during October 2023 and November 2023.

2. Purpose: The purpose of the inspections was to identify the types and estimated amounts of concrete deterioration and to determine the appropriate method of repair and protection.

3. Inspection Method: The inspection was performed by visual observation and acoustic emission where accessible from the walking surface. This report is based upon conditions that are observable via the inspection methods described above at the time of the inspection.

4. Concrete Deterioration: Concrete naturally has a protection layer when it is originally cast. Over a period, the natural protection is lessened, and the chloride content increases, and, eventually, the corrosion process starts. This typically takes twenty (20) to thirty (30) years and will continue for the building’s life span.

5. Balcony Inspections: All 40 of the total balconies were inspected. No visual inspection could be made of the private balcony concrete top surface at balconies with tile. The majority (36) of the balconies had a tile finish. No destructive testing was performed to conclusively determine the existence of deterioration beneath the tile finishes.

6. Project Scope: There is enough concrete deterioration present to perform a comprehensive concrete repair project.

7. Frames, Screens & Shutters: Screen enclosures and hurricane shutters will be removed. The screen enclosures are in a worn condition and will need to be replaced. For hurricane shutters to be reinstalled, they need to have been previously permitted with proof of permit and proper working condition.

8. Public Walkways: Concrete deterioration was observed at the public walkway slab top, bottom, and edge surfaces. The deterioration was in the form of spalling and cracks. Additionally, isolated areas of cracking and spalling were observed at building columns.

9. Recommended Repair: A comprehensive concrete repair project should include the removal of existing balcony finishes and include waterproofing the balcony slab surfaces to provide maximum protection for the building. You should be prepared to make additional repairs and paint within the next 7 to 10 years.

10. Cost Overruns: You can expect extra work and extra charges above and beyond the original contract price or estimate. These extras usually amount to about 25% or more of the original cost estimate but can be more depending on the severity of the deterioration. However, there have been instances where the cost of a concrete repair project has been double or triple the estimate even through a competent investigation was made. Since your project includes unknowns, i.e. coatings and tiles, you can expect that your cost will exceed the contract price or estimate, and contingency is necessary.

East C is a 5-story building with 8 units on each floor (40 units total). In general, balcony concrete restoration projects address a column (stack) of units at a time. Following is a summary of findings for each column of units (Note that 23 units are confirmed to have moderate damage and 87.5% need further investigation):

A complete copy of Swaysland Engineering's East C building Concrete Restoration Inspection Report is available in the "Bids & Contracts" folder of the Jupiter Bay Condominium Association website.

TO Jupiter Bay Board:

The East C building “repair” project is currently unfunded. There’s been no communication regarding funding, and there’s no published plan to do similar work in any other Jupiter Bay building. The Board cannot approve and begin work on an unfunded project.

I have read the Swaysland East C Concrete Restoration Inspection Report and believe that its content must be communicated and explained to the unit owners. The Report says that no units in this building have “severe” structural damage. The estimated $857,555 cost is for the following work on the East C building much of which has never been done before on any Jupiter Bay building:

• Remediate the 23 units with “moderate” damage and 9 units with “minor” damage.
• Replace balcony frames and screens in all 40 units.
• Tear out and not replace the tile floors in 36 units and waterproof all 40 balcony slab surfaces.
• Remove and reinstall 18 rail hurricane shutters.
• Remove and not reinstall 4 glass balcony enclosures.
• Remove and reinstall at least 4 sets of sliding glass balcony doors.

According to Swaysland’s engineer this $857,555 estimate is “likely to overrun by 25% or as much as 2-3 times the original estimate”. This will not only drain all the East building restoration/spalling reserves intended for use by all East unit owners but will require at least a $2,146 special assessment from each owner, including the 95 East owners in the other buildings who receive no benefit from this expenditure.

Similar work in all other Jupiter Bay East, West, and Villa buildings could cost every Jupiter Bay owner a $14,973 to $17,392 special assessment.

This work in a single building is being contemplated at a time when budgets and unit owner costs are skyrocketing and are expected to continue to rise:

Budgets

• Last year the Association overspent its operating budget (excluding insurance) by $175,078.
• Budgets have increased 16.74% last year and 17.24% this year. Inflationary increases in labor, material, and service costs will require further operating cost increases next year.
• Reserve balances decreased by 12.5% last year and reserve funding was reduced by $129,488 this year increasing the likelihood of future special assessments to cover shortfalls.
• Insurance rates increased 360% over the last 4 years requiring special assessments each year, and they are expected to continue to increase.

Future Expenditures

• A three-year property appraisal, required this year, is expected to increase property insurance premiums by 20% to 30%.
• The Association will soon have to pay for repairing any units with Phase II “Substantial Structural Deterioration” at a time when building restoration/spalling reserves are at 2021 levels. These costs are unknown, and information regarding plans and the status of community-wide Milestone Inspections and associated repair estimates has not been provided.
• Results of the Structural Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS) will require significant increases in reserve contributions to be reflected in the 2025 budget. No communication regarding SIRS status has been provided.
• The Association is planning to spend an unbudgeted $32,246 plus electrical installation costs for security surveillance cameras with ongoing expense of approximately $1,000 per month ($294 service cost plus Comcast internet).

The Board needs to improve its communication with Jupiter Bay owners regarding Milestone Inspections, SIRS, and the East C project, its total cost/funding, and plans for similar work on other buildings/units.

Paul St. Clair, LCAM

Through two official records requests and an official inquiry, I learned the following after waiting nearly 60 days:

1. In February 2023 the Jupiter Building Department told the Association that they are to begin Milestone Inspections of all buildings over 3 stories in height.

2. The Association waited 11 months to do their first inspection. However, the Board used scarce engineering resources to do a Concrete Remediation Inspection, not a Milestone Inspection nor Structural Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS).

3. Then, the Association wrongly told members that this East C Concrete Inspection was a Milestone Inspection and the basis for a $857,000 East C building “repair” project. Their April 19^th letter said that “C East is the starting point for concrete remediation under the new state mandates.” The new statutes would only have required C East units to be repaired if a both a phase one and phase two Milestone Inspection had been done and these inspections found "substantial structural deterioration" in one or more units. This didn't happen!

4. Milestone inspections of all Jupiter Bay buildings over 3 stories and a SIRS need to be completed by yearend. So far, members have received no information on completed Milestone Inspections nor an update on the SIRS.