The Grand, Miami: what the official records say about the building

Only what appears in an official document goes in here, with its source and its date. A lawsuit is not a ruling: what one party alleged is stated as an allegation, with the court and the case number.

This data comes from the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser (the county office that keeps the property records), from court rulings and from an official county document, read on October 20, 2026.

The board. Case "Cohn v. The Grand Condominium Association, Inc.": Florida Supreme Court, No. SC10-430, 62 So. 3d 1120, decided March 31, 2011; before that, Third District Court of Appeal, No. 3D08-3051, opinion of November 12, 2009 (the docket notes a corrected opinion on February 5, 2010).

According to the Court, the condominium's documents provide for a seven-member board: two elected by the residential owners, two by the commercial owners, two by the retail owners, and the seventh elected at-large. Under that description, the residential owners directly elect two of the seven seats.

The Court also writes that, under the condominium's declaration, "the retail and commercial unit owners, collectively, shall have majority vote control over the board of the directors".

In 2007 the Legislature amended section 718.404(2) of the condominium law. The amendment says that, in mixed-use condominiums with a residential composition of 50% or more, residential owners have the right to vote for a majority of the board seats, and that it applies retroactively (also to earlier condominiums). The Supreme Court held that, applied to The Grand, that amendment "impairs the obligation of contract" and affirmed the Third District's decision.

Its reason: the condominium's declaration, filed in 1986, adopts the condominium law as in effect when it was recorded. It does not contain the phrase "as amended from time to time", which would subject it to later changes in the law.

The hurricane windows assessment. Case "VME Group International, LLC v. The Grand Condominium Association, Inc.": Third District, No. 3D19-139; lower tribunal, Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Miami-Dade, No. 17-25120.

According to the order, three companies (VME Group International, LLC, Omni Property Management, LLC and Global Grand Management, Inc.) asked for a temporary injunction against several association rules, among them the "Hurricane Windows Assessment" (a charge tied to the hurricane impact windows project, according to the order). The trial court denied the injunction on December 21, 2018 and the Third District affirmed the denial on September 25, 2019. The Florida Supreme Court declined to review the case on June 22, 2020. The 2019 opinion names VME Group International, LLC and Omni Property Management, LLC.

In its order, which the opinion reproduces, the trial court wrote the following:

• That, according to the testimony at the hearing, a proper election was held and the vote required "to permit for the levying of the assessment" was obtained.
• That the window project was "significantly underway".
• That the record was "devoid of any indication that the assessments have been enforced".

The same order records that the plaintiffs alleged that "the election was tainted by fraud". The three quotations above are what the court wrote in that order. It is a decision on a temporary injunction, not a final judgment. Neither the order nor the opinion gives the per-unit amount or the payment schedule.

Allegations, not facts. In that same trial-court case, the plaintiffs (VME Group International, LLC, Omni Property Management, LLC and Global Grand Management, Inc.) filed their complaint in 2017 and a third amended complaint in 2020. According to the Third District's opinion of August 31, 2022 (Nos. 3D21-929 and 3D21-1001), that complaint alleges the following:

• That the defendants passed and enforced short-term rental rules disguised as security regulations.
• That they also passed special assessments that exceeded actual needs.
• That, because those charges could not be paid, the association placed liens on units and foreclosed on them, and that other defendants then purchased them.

These are one party's statements: the opinion does not treat them as proven.

How that stage ended. The trial court entered summary judgments and a final judgment in favor of the defendants. The Third District reversed them on August 31, 2022. Its reason: the trial court abused its discretion by denying the continuances the plaintiffs requested before the ruling ("abused its discretion by denying the Appellants' repeated pre-judgment motions for continuance"). It remanded the case "for further consistent proceedings". The opinion does not decide whether the allegations are true.

The appellate dockets read do not show the outcome after the remand: pending official confirmation. The trial-court file is at the Miami-Dade Clerk of Courts (the courts' records office), whose search, according to its own page, requires a security check or an account; it was not consulted.

Other special assessments. A special assessment is an extra charge the association splits among owners when reserves do not cover a project. Beyond the windows assessment that appears in that case, the official sources read contain no association notice or county document showing another approved assessment: pending official confirmation.

Settlement with the county. On May 19, 2020, the Miami-Dade County Commission adopted resolution R-499-20 (item 200861), which approves a settlement agreement between the county and The Grand Condominium Association, Inc. for $1,450,000.00 to be paid to the county. The resolution cites the lawsuit "Miami-Dade County v. The Grand Condominium Association, Inc." (case 2019-029806-CA-01), over water and sewer charges of the county's Water and Sewer Department ("Outstanding Water and Sewer Charges"). The county memorandum says that an October 2014 audit found the building had been billed as multifamily rather than non-residential, and that the association disputed the charges. It is a settlement between the association and the county.

Recertification. Recertification is a periodic inspection the county ordinance requires of certain buildings. The county recertification portal covers cases within its Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources (RER) jurisdiction. The Grand is in the City of Miami, outside that county jurisdiction.

The City of Miami Building Department page says its "Unsafe Structures" section manages the recertification program required by the county ordinance. We did not find a public City search for that program. The building's recertification status, and that of its mandatory structural inspection (milestone inspection), are pending official confirmation: they are requested from the City of Miami Building Department (the general numbers the city publishes: 311 or 305-468-5900) or from the association.

SIRS. It is the study that calculates how much money a condominium must set aside for major repairs (Structural Integrity Reserve Study). The DBPR, the Florida agency that supervises condominiums, publishes two lists of the ones associations submit to it: those submitted before July 2025 and those submitted from July 2025 on. It states that it shows the information exactly as submitted and that only complete forms appear.

Pending official confirmation: it was not confirmed whether the state lists have a row for this condominium. The lists show only complete forms, as submitted, and carry no street address. The SIRS and reserves status is pending official confirmation.

FHA. FHA loans are insured by HUD, the federal housing agency, which publishes a list of condominiums with their approval status. Read on October 20, 2026 (data "as of 10/20/2026"), the list shows this project:

• Name and ID: "THE GRAND CONDOMINIUM", A014072 001.
• Address: 1717 N BAYSHORE DR., Miami, FL 33132.
• Status: Rejected / Single-Unit Approval. Status date: August 3, 2023 (HUD writes 08/03/2023, month/day/year). HUD comment: "SINGLE UNIT FHA CONCENTRATION RESTRICTED TO 10%".

HUD does not show it as Approved. What it means for an FHA loan on your unit is confirmed by your lender; the guide to FHA loans on condos explains how to read the list and what single-unit approval is.

The association holds these documents, and you request them in writing before making an offer:

• Special assessment: any approved, proposed or under-discussion, with its notice, the vote record, the payment schedule and whether the association has a loan. The guide to the extra charge explains what you can request and what the seller hands over.
• Recertification: the status with the City of Miami (whether there is a report, case or certificate) and the mandatory structural inspection (milestone inspection), if it exists, or confirmation that it has not been done (county rules).
• SIRS: the study and confirmation that it was submitted to the DBPR, and the current level of reserves.
• Court proceedings: how the case VME Group International, LLC v. The Grand Condominium Association, Inc. (17-25120) stands after the 2022 remand, and whether there are other proceedings with the association as a party.
• The board: the condominium declaration and the bylaws, where it is set out how each seat is elected.
• If you use an FHA loan: the building's status on HUD's list and single-unit approval of a unit, with your lender.

If any item on this page is incorrect or out of date, write to hola@umbralio.com (Umbralio, through One Stop Realty Center Inc, a licensed Florida broker) with the official document. We reply within 2 business days. If there is an error, we correct it on this same page within 10 days at most, with a note saying what it said, what it says now and on what date it changed.

• Miami-Dade Property Appraiser (folio 01-3231-048-0001 and the record for unit 01-3231-048-0010): apps.miamidadepa.gov/PropertySearch
• Florida Supreme Court, Cohn v. The Grand Condominium Association, Inc. (SC10-430, March 31, 2011): opinion text and ACIS docket
• Third District, Cohn (3D08-3051): ACIS docket
• Third District, VME (3D19-139): text of the September 25, 2019 opinion and ACIS docket
• Third District, VME (3D21-929 and 3D21-1001): text of the August 31, 2022 opinion and ACIS docket
• Miami-Dade County Commission, resolution R-499-20 (item 200861): miamidade.gov/govaction
• County building recertification portal (RER): wwwx.miamidade.gov/Apps/RER/carbr/Home/Recert
• City of Miami, Building Department: miami.gov/Building-3/About-the-Building-Department
• DBPR, SIRS database (both lists): condominiums-and-cooperatives-sirs-reporting
• HUD, condominium list: entp.hud.gov/idapp/html/condlook.cfm