Shore apartment owners' meeting delayed: huge repair undecided

Bay Palms apartments in Browns Bay where residents face a big repair. Photo/Dean Purcell

Owners of Browns Bay's largest apartment block, facing weathertightness and fire safety issues, will not meet until May to vote on how much to spend fixing the building.

An estimate last year indicated it would cost $14.5 million to repair.

Minutes from the latest body corporate committee meeting held on March 14 reported how an extraordinary general meeting (EGM), initially planned for early this year, was now delayed until winter.

Browns Bay's 65-unit Bay Palms apartments have leak and fire safety issues and some owners have complained how they might have to pay $90,000 to $140,000 each for the repair.

Read: Residents reject $14.5m repair plan for apartments

"The proposed date of the EGM will have to be pushed out past 2 May to ensure that the consultants are fully ready to present the range of options requested," the latest Bay Palms minutes said.

Read: Fire safety issues revealed at Shore units

However, the committee also debated who should manage those repairs, at one stage estimated to cost more than $14m.

"David Bentham ... stuck with his demand that he believes that the project management should be in the hands of a builder. This request, that an independent project manager, a builder, be appointed before the contract is advertised for tender resulted in, at times, a heated discussion," the minutes said.

All the other committee members disagreed with him and said cancelling a contract could open the way for a legal dispute.

Contacted for comment, Bentham said he could not discuss issues but asked how the Herald had a copy of the minutes, which he said had only gone to committee members.

Bay Palms apartments in Browns Bay where residents face a big repair. Photo/Dean Purcell

The spectre of owners selling all 65 units and the land was also floated at the committee meeting.

"There has been a verbal offer of $20 million for the whole site which was at least 50 per cent of a price in which people would consider as an offer worth considering," the minutes said, indicating owners would want $40m for the entire property.

Bay Palms is at 30 Bute Rd and 27 Inverness Rd. The Government has already contributed $2.9m from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment via the Financial Assistance Package to help fund repairs.

This is in exchange for owners agreeing not to sue any territorial authority involved in the units being built or approved.