Owners at condo building struggle

At first glance, the midrise glass-and-steel structure at 122 New St. appears to be just another condo building, one of many added to the Center City scene over the last dozen years.

But then the eye is drawn to cracks opening in three places along the facade of the Nouveau condominium complex, perforated joint tape popping through them above the entrance to the underground parking garage.

Landscaping around the property is unfinished.

Inside, footsteps echo as the building's few occupants - the owners of four condos and three renters - temper their anger over the scores of promises Nouveau's developer, CREI, failed to keep.

"What we saw and what [we were] shown looked so good," said Todd Warfel, president of Nouveau's condo association. "We listened to the selling job and said, 'Where do we sign?' "

CREI's marketing vowed Nouveau would attract that "special breed of buyer to the city real estate market." Just not enough buyers, as it turned out. Only six people bought into the 16-unit building - five who planned to live there and one investor - for prices ranging from $329,000 to $619,000.

Currently, eight units remain unfinished and have only temporary certificates of occupancy, said Adrian Martini, who bought his unit in May 2007 and is a member of the condo board. Because they lack permanent certificates of occupancy, the eight units cannot be rented. Two are for sale anyway, listed at $599,000.

Those eight units and two rented units owned by CREI remain on the books of its principals - Gagandeep Lakhmna, Harbir Singh, and Amardeep "Billy" Grewal, Lakhmna's brother-in-law - adding to the growing weight of bank debts owed by the company and liens placed against it by subcontractors and the IRS.

CREI's signature condo project, American Loft in Northern Liberties, is going to sheriff's sale June 2 after Abington Bank, which holds $15.2 million in three construction loans, foreclosed Feb. 27.

Repeated efforts to reach the three developers have been unsuccessful.

One of the six original buyers, Andrew Pollner, 29, pleaded guilty in April in Wilmington to federal charges of possessing or distributing 1,000 to 3,000 kilograms of marijuana and 15 to 50 kilograms of cocaine, as well as money laundering and other charges, according to documents from the U.S. Attorney's Office, and is awaiting sentencing.

Pollner's unit, on which he owed $432,000 to CitiMortgage, went to foreclosure in August, Common Pleas Court records show.

These various financial and legal travails have created one big headache for Warfel, Martini, and the other owners who remain at Nouveau, whose monthly condo fees of $300 to $400 do not come close to covering maintenance of the building and the common areas.

The developers never paid fees for the 10 units they still own, so Warfel and the others wrested control of the condo board from CREI and changed entry codes to the front door and garage.

"The situation is improving, even with the limited resources at our disposal" said Martini, who takes out the trash, keeps the books, and oversees maintenance contracts.

"There wasn't a month at the end of last year when the mail didn't bring shutoff notices from the Water Department, Peco, and PGW," said Warfel, who, along with the others, bought units in late 2006 or early 2007 based on a sales model.

They do not have the Comcast cable service they were promised. Internet access is sporadic.

"We'd like to hire someone to wash the windows regularly," Warfel said.

Roofing contractor Edward DeAngelis said he would simply like to be paid the $35,000 CREI owes him for the work he did on Nouveau.

His EDA Contractors is best known for putting roofs on the Kimmel and Comcast Centers. DeAngelis has spent $15,000 in legal fees suing the CREI partners, trying to wrest the balance of his $100,000 contract.

"I've refused to provide the warranty for the roof," he said.

DeAngelis, Warfel, and Martini said other contractors who worked on the building were in similar straits. Some contractors were given units at a higher-priced CREI condo project, 101 Walnut, to satisfy debts, they said.

Contractors who worked on Nouveau will not come back, as Martini found when the then-never-used heater in his unit failed to work.

"Our daughter was 22 months old, and we had to get a new heater because the original had been improperly installed," he said.

Now that the owners are starting to get a handle on the problems they have been left to deal with, Martini and the others have had time to reflect on whether buying at Nouveau was the right decision.

The building seemed to offer the best value for their money, Martini said he and his wife concluded.

"My wife and I have looked back to see how we could have done it differently," he said. "But we bought in the middle of the [housing] boom, when buyers had no leverage."