Glen Waldman, who for 25 years served on Key Biscayne’s youth athletic boards, scored a major victory this month as an attorney representing condo owners who had been forced out of their residences.
A group of 10 owners had sued to block the demolition of the 13-story, 192-unit waterfront Biscayne 21 condo tower at 2121 N. Bayshore Drive in Edgewater (three miles from Brickell), a building that had sat vacant for nearly three years and was once labeled by the Wall Street Journal as a “zombie on prime waterfront land.”
The Jan. 12 ruling by Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Thomas Rebull orders Two Roads Development, which began to strip away some of the 60-year-plus construction in order to replace it with a luxury condo, to restore the building to its May 2023 condition and bars the company from seeking a rezoning or demolition permit.
Waldman, who with his partner Jeffrey Lam at the national law firm Armstrong Teasdale, told reporters, “This is where a number of our clients wanted to live out the rest of their lives.”
He said that it would take a “very substantial” cost to do the repairs, but that it was “doable.”
“The ultimate goal is that we get our clients back in their homes,” Lam added.
Two Roads Development officials, according to the ruling, must reinstate utilities, services and common area maintenance at their own expense, with no additional cost to the unit owners.
Reportedly, Waldman and Lam plan to file an amended complaint that adds parties and claims to the litigation, including the developer’s lenders and former board members.
Two Roads had purchased the majority of units in 2022 for $150 million, then instituted changes to the association’s bylaws to lower the voting threshold for termination. That would have paved the way for a redevelopment by lowering the threshold from 100% to 80%. Then the building, built in 1964, was emptied and the utilities were shut off.
The case was originally filed in March 2024 in the Third District Court of Appeal.
Waldman retired as a Village volunteer last year after serving 25 years in various roles to support Key Biscayne’s youth athletic programs. He was president of the Key Biscayne Athletic Club from 2003-2005, and chaired the Village Athletics Advisory Board since 2012, overseeing many of the programs head in the right direction.