B
illionaire Jeff Greene has filed a counterclaim against Coral Gables-based Kast Construction in response to their lawsuit against his development entity, 1370 South Ocean. The dispute revolves around the construction of the $3 billion two-tower complex at 550 South Quadrille Boulevard in West Palm Beach. According to Greene's complaint, Kast mismanaged the construction project, causing delays and costly mistakes.

    Greene's lawsuit alleges that Kast attempted to gain an advantage in the dispute by filing their lawsuit against him first. In response, Greene's entity countersued Kast in Palm Beach County Circuit Court. The counterclaim alleges that Kast breached its duties as construction manager, including overcharging for key employees' salaries by more than 60 percent without prior approval and stealing construction supplies worth tens of thousands of dollars.

    Greene fired Kast after they allegedly delayed completion of One West Palm by three years, despite the project being scheduled for completion in 2021. After terminating Kast's services, Greene hired Bluewater Builders of West Palm Beach to complete the project, which he expects to be finished by the end of this year or mid-2025.

    The two towers of One West Palm will stand at 30 stories each, featuring a combined 328 apartments, 201 hotel rooms, and 200,000 square feet of office space. Greene purchased the 3.3-acre development site in 2014 for $10 million and later won zoning changes to increase the building height from 10 stories to 30 stories.

    In their June lawsuit, Kast alleges that Greene was responsible for the construction schedule exceeding 36 months, resulting in $2.4 million in extra fees. According to Kast's lawsuit, Greene failed to provide timely direction for design and material changes to One West Palm, causing delays in the project's schedule. Kast is seeking more than $4 million in damages.