A deal to redevelop a slice of Singer Island waterfront just blew up into a lawsuit. Miami-based Privé Group had agreed to pay $12.8 million for a one-acre property holding the 13-unit Condado co-op, with plans to tear it down and build 13 new condo units in its place. Instead, the sale stalled six days before closing, and now the developer is suing the co-op for breach of contract.
According to The Real Deal, Privé had expected the purchase of the Condado property to be recorded in a single deed. Under the original plan, Condado residents — who own shares in the company that owns the building rather than individual units outright — were expected to return their shares to the company before the sale. That would have let the co-op terminate itself, allowing Privé to buy the land without having to purchase the co-op's company at all.
That plan fell apart just days before the scheduled October 19 closing. Condado, Inc. instead asked to restructure the deal into 13 separate purchases of owners' shares or leases, with individual unit owners paid out through 13 separate closing statements — a structure Privé says it had never heard of before. The co-op also sought an arrangement that would shift a tax burden onto Privé, per the outlet's reporting.
A Scramble Before Closing Day
Cathleen Ward, who is also a West Palm Beach city commissioner, emailed on October 13 that the seller could not proceed with a global termination of the co-op because of tax concerns, and proposed separate closing statements and payments to individual owners instead, The Real Deal reports. Robert Stok, an attorney at Stoklaw representing Privé, responded in a letter to Ward arguing that the contract documents did not support the seller's proposed plan.
Ward maintained that the seller remained ready to close on October 19, and said it was the buyer that had not prepared a closing statement, according to the outlet's account. Privé Group filed its breach-of-contract lawsuit against Condado, Inc. of Singer Island on the day the deal was set to close, The Real Deal reported. A separate listing of Palm Beach County civil filings dated October 20 shows the case Privé Land Banking LLC v. Condado Inc. of Singer Island under case number 50-2026-CA-011767-XXXA-MB, according to Boca Post's filings roundup. Ward declined to comment on the litigation.
What Privé Wanted to Build
Privé, led by CEO Javier Rabinovich, had planned to raise 13 new condo units at 5060 North Ocean Drive if the deal closed, replacing the existing Condado units, which were built in 1966. The stakes of that redevelopment plan are visible just steps away: luxury condo units in new buildings on the Riviera Beach island are listed for up to $7 million, the same report notes.
Older neighboring buildings show a wide price spread. Units at the 40-unit Ocean's Edge building at 5050 North Ocean Drive are listed for about $3 million, while units at the Sea Winds towers at 5070-80 North Ocean Drive carry asking prices of $600,000 to $1.2 million — a gap that underscores just how much a ground-up rebuild on the Condado site could be worth to a developer.
Privé has been involved in other disputes and projects this year. The company proposed a six-story office building in unincorporated Miami-Dade County earlier in 2026, and sued South American investors for $20 million in damages in 2025.
