Mold dampens Emeryville condominium owners' lives

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Mold dampens Emeryville condominium owners' lives

By Cecily Burt, STAFF WRITER

The Argus - Fremont,CA,

Article Last Updated:12/17/2006 02:33:26 AM PST

http://www.insidebayarea.com/argus/localnews/ci_4856353

EMERYVILLE — ita Carroll Young's family is busy with all the

tasks many people do this time of year: shop, send out cards,

decorate the Christmas tree.

Only this year, like the past two years, the Youngs, and several of

their neighbors who own leaky condominiums in the Terraces at

EmeryStation, will be spending the holidays in a hotel, not in the

comfort of their own homes.

It's not by choice. The owners of more than 20 condos in Emeryville

have been living a nomadic — but not too spartan — existence at the

Woodfin Suites hotel since August 2004. That's when it became clear

that water leaks and subsequent mold problems in their condos would

be not be quick, easy or inexpensive to fix.

At that point the developer's insurance company moved most of them

into the hotel, their furniture and many other belongings left

behind or placed in storage. A few people have since moved to

apartments, but the bulk of them remain at the Woodfin.

And though many of the displaced homeowners — who refer to

themselves as " moldies " — feel slightly odd when they complain about

having to stay at the very nice and comfortable hotel, that doesn't

mean they aren't frustrated as heck by the delay in moving back to

their own homes.

" My daughter is 11, she was 8 when we moved in, " said Young about

her daughter Larissa Campana. " She learned to ride her bike in the

parking lot behind the hotel.

" Nobody really has that much pity for me, somebody

does come in and clean my room every day, " she added wryly.

The 101-unit Terraces at EmeryStation on Horton Street is the

residential component of Wareham Development's planned 20-acre

campus that includes two office buildings and the Amtrak station,

which is owned and managed by Wareham.

The condominium project was completed in 2003, but it wasn't long

before residents started reporting drips and leaks when the rainy

season started.

Craig Winsor and his partner bought their 1,100-square-foot loft in

July 2003. It features floor-to-ceiling windows and an eclectic view

of urban life that he loves.

Winsor said he first noticed the drips from his 22-foot ceilings on

New Year's Day, 2004. He said management at first blamed it on the

bad storms that winter. Then the mold happened, construction defects

were discovered, lawsuits were filed and all hopes of quick fixes

and promises of moving back have faded as the months go by.

Wareham's insurance company pays for their suite at the Woodfin

while he continues to pay the mortgage on the condo and $420 a month

in Home Owner's Association dues. Winsor has an adjustable rate

mortgage due in 2008. He put off refinancing because the wall in his

unit is exposed down to the studs, awaiting repair, while the

attorneys for both sides haggle over what should be done to fix the

problem and get ready for trial in case nothing is resolved.

" I go up and down, " said Winsor, who visits his condo from time to

time and has remodeled his bathrooms while living at the

hotel. " Sometimes I get really livid and frustrated, that's why I

don't go to all the meetings (to get updates on the repairs). I'd

rather pretend it's not happening, I guess. "

Calls to Wareham were returned by Tim Gallen of Gallen Associates, a

public relations firm. Gallen said the lawsuit prevented him from

commenting about anything related to the water or mold problems, the

proposed resolution, or the timetable for returning people to their

homes.

Wareham's attorney, Buzzard of Palumbo Bergstrom LLC in Irvine,

said it is true that Wareham initially thought the problem could be

quickly fixed and people would be able to move back in.

Buzzard said the developer doesn't own the building and the

homeowners association has control over how the repairs are done and

Wareham " can't just go in and do whatever it wants. " The insurance

companies for the developer and subcontractors stepped in and

started negotiating with the home owners' association over the type

and extent of those repairs. The two sides couldn't agree, and the

association filed a lawsuit earlier this year, Buzzard said.

" I couldn't give you all the details on the back and forth, " he

said. " There is a process in California where the developer gets to

do something before litigation starts. That process happened, the

insurance companies got involved, now it's just a matter of the

insurance companies not being able to agree to what the repairs

should be. "

Truelove, president of the homeowner's association at the

Terraces, said both sides hired forensics experts to study the

problem. Both sides agree on the cause of the water intrusion and

subsequent mold, and both sides agree there were identified

construction defects.

But that agreement so far hasn't translated into action.

" The magnitude of the construction defects, the costs and adequate

funding of the liability, exceeds the amount of insurance in the

first insurance policy, " Truelove said, adding that a so-

called " wrap " insurance policy that covers all the subcontractors

been activated, adding more lawyers to the negotiations.

" The case hasn't settled, " Truelove said. " There are insurance

carriers involved and we are moving to trial on this. "

Buzzard said Wareham has a good track record in Emeryville and has

worked hard to make it a better community for both business and its

residents. He said the company has not forgotten about the residents

and the company is " genuinely concerned " about them and committed to

resolving the problems. Unfortunately, he said, the litigation

process slows things down.

" Wareham is devoted to the community and it's not leaving or

abandoning the community, " he said.

That may be, but some displaced residents aren't feeling the love

right now.

" This is our third Christmas at the hotel, " Young said. " We set up a

tree, but I couldn't find the box with our Christmas ornaments this

year, which really made me mad. "

Young's family made the best of the situation, popping popcorn and

weaved strands of the fluffy kernels and cranberries to hang on the

tree. Larissa designed and cut out paper ornaments and created small

cachets of potpourri with hot pink Silly String curlicues, popcorn

and cranberries.

" Every spring and summer that comes we are very hopeful there will

be a fix, then every September that comes, it's too late because

another rainy season is coming, " Young said. " You gotta just find

some humor in the whole thing. "

Contact Staff Writer Celily Burt at cburt@....