FILING SUIT: Turnberry Isle Condominium residents claim a residential wellness program is taking away their right to amenities.
Posted on 07/18/2003 8:55:49 AM PDT by bedolido
For millions of Floridians, it's life's happy ending: Retire, buy a condo and spend afternoons by the pool with a burger, fries and a cold one.
But residents at Turnberry Isle condominium's North Tower are angry because their golden sunset has a cloud. Snacks are now forbidden by the pool, and the clubhouse restaurant's menu has been wiped clean of parmesan chicken and pasta and replaced with eggplant salad and brown rice.
The reason: the Pritikin Longevity Center -- a wellness spa -- moved in and needed the restaurant to serve a health-oriented cuisine for its guests.
The poolside snack bar was shut done entirely.
''They won't even let you bring a sandwich onto the pool deck because they're afraid it might tempt their clients,'' said Steve Friedfertig, the president of the North Tower's condominium association.
So now they have taken to another Florida pastime: condo litigation.
Today, Circuit Court Judge Roberto Pineiro may rule on whether the residents will regain their rights to hold a poolside barbecue.
The condo association filed suit in July 1999, five months after Pritikin began renting space in Turnberry's North Tower.
The lawsuit is against Turnberry Isle Country Club, which leased the property to Pritikin, alleging breach of contract, and against Pritikin, alleging it is a commercial business operating out of a residential area.
North Tower residents say their quality of life changed once Pritikin moved in.
''We can't use the hotel, I can't eat in the dining room anymore, I can't always get the pool equipment I need,'' said Delores Witte, a resident since 1979.
But Pritikin claims they have not infringed on the rights of residents.
''Their arguments are silly,'' said Gene Sterns, an attorney for Pritikin. ``If they want a lifestyle like that, pay for it.''
But residents of the North Tower say they already have.
''We paid premium prices for a lifestyle, and it was taken away from us,'' said Friedfertig. He paid $650,000 for his condominium in 1981.
At the time, Turnberry was billing itself as providing ``a complete, integrated private club lifestyle.''
The Aventura complex advertised amenities included a pool, poolside café, dining room, spa and hotel.
But in 1999, the Turnberry Isle Yacht Club, at 19707 Turnberry Way, began leasing porto Pritikin.
Residents were immediately displeased that a clinical operation was invading their homes. About two months ago they printed T-shirts that read ''This is not a hospital'' and picketed around the pool, carrying signs emblazoned with ``Pritikin -- Go Home!''
The Pritikin program offers clients nutrition and fitness management, personalized medical care and educational workshops to help them achieve a longer, healthier life.
''This type of isolated medical operation should not be a part of a residential environment,'' Friedfertig said.
But Pritikin President Paul Lehr said that although Pritikin clients benefit from the facilities, condominium residents are welcome to them as well. ''Residents can eat in the restaurant, they can use the spa and they can use the pool,'' he said.
This is true, residents say, but the quality of the amenities has changed since Pritikin moved in. Residents complain that the pool is poorly maintained and that they are allowed only to use the exercise room and spa facilities during restricted hours.
Residents have even been prohibited from bringing their own food onto the pool deck said Gerald Richman, an attorney for the Turnberry Condominium Association.
''This is not enforced at the Ocean Club,'' Richman said, referring to the oceanfront Turnberry Resort and Country Club, which is about a mile away from the condominium. It only affects the 300 residents who live in the North Tower.
Before 1999, each condo owner was given a Homeowners Manual, which explained their rights and privileges, including exclusive use of the hotel and pool. The condo association's lawsuit is based on breach of contract.
But Sterns, the attorney representing Pritikin, said the contract stated that the Turnberry Country Club reserved the right to alter or terminate the amenities at any time.
Management and legal counsel for the Turnberry Country Club did not return phone calls.
FILING SUIT: Turnberry Isle Condominium residents claim a residential wellness program is taking away their right to amenities.
FMCDH
I am not going to spend my last years being awakened at 6:00AM for calesthenics and macrobiotic food, because it is good for me.
I told my son that is he does this to me that I still have enough contacts to have him whacked.
So9
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