A $21 million assessment, a board ousted, and now a lawsuit: 1060 Brickell takes on its contractor

The Brickell skyline in Miami, 2012 — The Brickell skyline, Miami (general view). Photo: Daniel Christensen, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

The towers were only 16 years old when the bill came: a $21 million special assessment. Owners ousted the board that imposed it. Now the new board is suing the contractor, saying it was paid for work it never did.

The lawsuit

According to The Real Deal (Lidia Dinkova, Oct. 7, 2026), the 1060 Brickell Condominium Association, "which represents 592 units at two 45-story towers," sued American Construction & Engineering (ACE) in Miami-Dade Circuit Court. It alleges ACE took funds "for work and materials it didn't provide" and then filed two liens. The complaint calls those liens, filed in August for nearly $3 million, "willfully exaggerated." The claims are "breach of contract, fraudulent claim of lien and slander of title."

According to the complaint as reported, ACE was overpaid by $1.5 million on the 1050 Brickell tower, and its lien on 1060 Brickell "overstates the amount the contract is owed by roughly $840,000." These are allegations. No court has ruled on them.

The contractor's side: The Real Deal reported that "ACE and its owner, Peter Anta, didn't return requests for comment."

Bar chart of the $21 million assessment, $48 million potential cost, and $3 million in liens — Chart by the Florida Condo & HOA Brief using figures reported by The Real Deal. Complaint allegations are unproven.

How it got here

In 2024, the board proposed the $21 million assessment, "with many unit owners questioning the need," because the towers, "completed in 2008, were only 16 years old" (The Real Deal).
Owners twice voted to replace the former board, and a Miami-Dade judge ordered the former board "to turn over association control and records" (The Real Deal).
Current president Dorinda Spahr confirmed the assessment remains. She said the recall spared owners change orders that "would have pushed the cost closer to $48 million" (The Real Deal).
In a separate suit over the assessment, the association said it relied on "its engineer's structural integrity reserve study report," while the owners' engineer "disputed the urgency." That case "settled privately" (The Real Deal).

Why it matters

The Real Deal reported that "a growing number of owners say their boards, engineers and contractors are exploiting the safety rules to rush projects." The law includes conflict-of-interest guardrails. A contractor or design professional bidding on SIRS-recommended work "may not have an interest, directly or indirectly, in the firm or entity providing the association's structural integrity reserve study … unless such relationship is disclosed to the association in writing," and an undisclosed contract "is voidable" (s. 718.112(2)(g)3.b., F.S.).

No licensed photo of 1060 Brickell itself was available to us, so we're using the Brief's logo here.

Lawsuit details are as reported by The Real Deal. The Brief has not yet obtained the complaint from the Miami-Dade Clerk's online system. Allegations are unproven. Not legal advice.