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t a two-tower Brickell Avenue condo in Miami, unit owners voted out their board president following a series of contentious events. The ousted leader, Jacob Kassell, had allegedly passed a $21 million special assessment without proper approval and attempted to postpone the election until December.

    In response, some owners flew in from abroad to vote in person after Kassell eliminated electronic voting. On Saturday, they replaced him with new representation: president Dorinda Spahr and board members Pablo Lignarolo and David Treiger. The complex has 605 units and was built in 2008.

    State law requires condo boards to receive at least 50 percent owner approval for projects exceeding $50,000 or 115 percent of assessments. Kassell had previously approved the assessment during a virtual meeting where residents were muted. The assessment translates to about $40,000 to $50,000 per owner, depending on unit size.

    Kassell claimed the election results would be thrown out, but Spahr won with 192 votes while no one voted for him. Condo associations across Florida are adapting to recent state laws passed after the Surfside condo collapse, including structural integrity reserve studies and inspections by the end of this year and 2025 respectively.

    These new regulations have put financial strain on older buildings in need of repairs, as many associations had previously waived fully funding their reserves. One owner at 1060 Brickell expressed concerns that the process still lacks accountability and guardrails.