Failed Weston development finally lives up to potential
By Robin Benedick
Staff Writer
April 9, 2003
Weston * With its half-built houses, overflowing dumpsters and huge mounds of dirt,
the upscale La Costa subdivision was instead a virtual ghost town eight years ago.
Its developer ran out of money and simply left. The streetlights were shut off and the
few homeowners living there had to scrape together $1,700 to get them turned back on. Several families lost their life savings on down payments
for homes that didn't get built.
"It was a nightmare," recalled Marv Edelstein, 68, who with wife, Penny, 52,
has lived in his four-bedroom house since 1994. "It wasn't pretty when you drove down the street. In fact, we were the joke around
this town for a long time.''
But no one is laughing now. The last three houses in the 70-home development in the
Bonaventure section of Weston, just south of State Road 84, are under construction and already have sold for $300,000. Resales also are
going for that price, double what some buyers paid initially.
"We love it here," said Loren Clayton, 36, a native of Jamaica who bought
a new home in 1999 with husband, Athol, 35, and their three young children. "It's a friendly, diverse neighborhood. There are a lot
of kids around."
Realtors point to La Costa's completion as a real success story.
"It's become a very desirable place," said Linda Gomez, a broker-associate
at Coldwell Banker who has lived in Bonaventure since 1986. "La Costa has turned into a really beautiful development."
It wasn't always that way.
La Costa's original developer, Treasured Spaces of Florida, abandoned the luxury home
community in 1995 after building on 30 of 70 lots. Left in limbo were 22 unfinished houses and 18 undeveloped lots. A second builder, Construction
Consultants of Bonaventure, filed for bankruptcy protection in 1996. A third, Coastal Construction Corp., bought the subdivision property
during a foreclosure sale at the county courthouse. A fourth, Carley Homes, has built nine houses and is finishing the last three.
"This neighborhood got a bad rap for years because of the problems with the builders,"
said Leigh Feldsteen, president of Carley Homes. "That's unfortunate because it's a beautiful little enclave."
A dozen families whose homes were not completed sued the original developer, Treasured
Spaces, and won a $234,682 award from a Broward County circuit judge. But the builder didn't have money so they turned to a state fund for
people who bought into failed residential projects.
So far, the families have been repaid about half what they should get from the fund,
said their attorney, Roy Oppenheim of Weston.
"By the time this is done, they will get back about 80 percent of their money,"
Oppenheim said. "The irony here is that anyone who stuck it out at La Costa has done well."
Alan Rosenberg's house was almost finished when Treasured Spaces left. He ended up buying
another house in Weston. He said he is bitter that taxpayers -- not the builder -- have repaid him.
"I'm glad I got half my money back but it's the taxpayers who bailed me out,"
Rosenberg said.
For years, a few homeowners worked hard to keep La Costa afloat. They took out a $30,000
bank loan to finish sidewalks and plant landscaping at the subdivision's entrance. They spent $5,000 to hire a company with a bulldozer
to clean up trash and construction debris and then laid new sod themselves. They dug in their pockets for cash to keep the streetlights
on at night.
Mike and Diane Gonzalez, who bought one of La Costa's first dozen homes in 1994, used
to mow the grass in the common areas and even planted some flowers and plants at the entrance.
"We take pride in this place," he said. "I think we've shown with a little
perseverance and a bunch of people pulling together, you can accomplish a lot. We're thrilled with what we have now."
Robin Benedick can be reached at rbenedick@sun-sentinel.com
or 954-385-7914.
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