We have assembled a substantial documentary record concerning this project, including changes to the scope of work, and the circumstances surrounding a $232,638 check to Best Roofing. Anything underlined is a link to its document.
The Starting Point: Falcon’s May 2023 Inspection Report
Before examining how the roof replacement project developed, it is useful to begin with what Falcon Engineering reported about drainage in its May 2023 Phase One inspection.
It stated that the primary drainage of the main roof was provided by floor drains. While recommending replacement of the existing roof system, Falcon also stated that “no major concerns were observed with respect to the roof drainage at the time of the inspection.” This statement concerning the main roof drainage appears on page 39 of the report. The complete document is available in the Documents section of this website.
A New Drainage Issue Emerges
Three months later, an August 28, 2023, correspondence between Falcon Engineering’s Project Manager Mihaela Hristova and the Board raised a drainage issue.
Ms. Hristova reported that she had observed two compromised drains in the common roof area and that the condition would most likely involve the areas adjacent to the divided wall between the common roof and the PH 2 and PH 14 terraces.
She presented three possible approaches. The first—and the option she recommended—was to include the PH 2 and PH 14 terraces in the re-roofing work, add a drain on the terrace side, and relocate the existing drain on the main roof. She explained that this was the preferred approach for preventing potential moisture intrusion and preserving the roof warranty.
On the same August 28, 2023, then-Board President Carlos Ilarregui responded that the Board would select one of the options within two days. The following day, Ms. Hristova estimated that approximately $4,000 would be required to assess the drainage and prepare a drainage plan, but added “We will determine if architectural details are needed once we evaluate the existing piping connections in PH 2 and PH 14.”
Did not wait two days. On August 29, Ilarregui replied: “The Board voted unanimously to select Option 1” and instructed Hristova to proceed with the additional work.
However, the records reviewed to date contain no record of a Board vote approving Option 1 or any other vote taken on any of Ms. Hristova’s options. No Board meeting minutes, meeting agenda, or other Board record has documents including the claimed unanimous vote.
The Bidding Process Begins
Falcon Engineering proposed five contractors to be invited to bid on the roof replacement project: Empire Roofing, Salomon Roofing and Waterproofing, Best Roofing, DCI-Builders, and Hi-Rise Roofing.
The bidding process then moved forward, but by December 21, 2023, Falcon reported that it had received only two bids—Best Roofing and Salomon Roofing.
How Potential Bidders Became Two and then One
In order to fully understand the lack of transparency in this whole matter, please look at an email sent by Stewart Glass on November 21, 2023, days after he became Board Member and its President.
The email was sent directly to Falcon’s Mihaela Hristova, with Falcon personnel and Castle’s Liran Shahar copied. No other Board member was copied, a pattern which began even before he was a Board member, and likely continues today. Glass identified himself as the new President of the Board and instructed Hristova that she may take Carlos Ilarregui “off of the mailing list”. Must be noted there are other prior emails sent by Glass in which the previous Board was not copied, except for Carlos Ilarregui.
The December 5 pre-bid meeting referenced in that email did take place. Based on the records we have reviewed to date, we have not identified any Board member listed as attending that meeting.
On December 12, 2023, Falcon issued revised specifications covering the main and upper roof levels. The penthouse terraces were not identified as part of the base roof replacement scope.
On December 21, Falcon reported that Best Roofing and Salomon Roofing had submitted bids. Empire Roofing had requested an extension because its material vendors were out for the holidays. Tamia Craig’s December 21, 2023, email shows that she asked Board President Stewart Glass whether the extension would be granted. All we know is that Empire ultimately did not submit a bid.
DCI Chief Estimator Amy Helms stated that DCI had not submitted a bid because it believed there was bias in the process, while also indicating that DCI was willing to participate and could prepare a complete proposal if needed.
The records also show that opportunities to obtain additional bidders remained available. On March 8, 2024, Castle Regional Director Jim Koslosky stated in writing that, if the Board directed Castle to do so, Castle would obtain additional roofing companies and quotes. He also offered information about roofing companies used by other associations in the area.
Furthermore, at the October 2025 Open Board Meeting, Alex Bakshiyev, while commenting on the failures of the so-called Façade Committee, stated that he had offered additional roofing contractors two years earlier, but his offer was ignored.
Using Drainage to Choose Best Roofing
The January 23, 2024 Board Meeting Minutes provide additional documentation concerning the discussion of Best Roofing and the drainage issue, followed by the Board’s vote concerning Best Roofing. See January 23, 2024 Board Meeting Minutes — Roofing Selection.
If the Board selected Best Roofing based, at least in part, on the drainage concerns described by Falcon, where is the work implementing that option? The Best Roofing contract contains no provision for the proposed relocation of the main-roof drain or the addition of drains at PH 2 and PH 14. Drainage was apparently the excuse used to re-roof those two terraces based on Hristova’s recommendation.
The “If Selected” Provision
The Best Roofing bid documents contain an important distinction between the base bid and additional work identified as Optional Work. The documents expressly state that the total project cost did not include optional work items and that the final total would depend on the final scope.
This is worth examining because the additional work associated with the PH 2 and PH 14 terraces was not simply incidental to the original base roof work. The contract documents separately identify optional work and its associated costs.
This raises an important question: Which portions of the additional work were actually “selected”, when were they “selected”, and what Board record documents those decisions? We have not seen any.
Declaration of Condominium
All Board members completing the Candidate Application sign a form which includes a promise to uphold our laws, including the Declaration. It identifies these terraces as limited common elements and provides that the individual terrace owners are responsible for the removal, purchase and installation of new pavers. Nevertheless, the terrace re-roofing work was included in the Association’s roofing project and paid for through the project. That is a clear violation of the Declaration.
In our opinion, the violation of the Declaration, the limiting of bidders, and the use of the drainage issue to justify expanding the project appear to reflect a common objective: increasing the funds paid to Best Roofing. We believe these actions were just the beginning of a series of decisions this Board has made against the interests of our community.
The Drainage Question — and What Happened When the Roof Was Opened
Earlier on this Roof Project Page, we documented how a purported drainage problem became the stated basis for selecting Best Roofing and moving forward with the roof project.
There is another fact that deserves to be considered in that context.
Within a couple of days in June 2024, before the roof project began, our area experienced extraordinary rainfall, with nearly 20 inches of rain falling during that period. During and following that event that stranded hundreds of cars including flooding the Aventura Mall Garage, Tower 500’s Chief Engineer, Jose Prendes, verbally reported that the building had experienced no roof or drainage problems.
Then, on August 8, 2024, after the existing roofing had been removed and the underlying concrete was exposed, two Tower 500 owners with engineering backgrounds—Rodolfo Osers, a Structural Engineer carrying a little hammer to assess the concrete, and David Markovic, a Civil Engineer—observed the exposed roof.
Their assessment was that the concrete appeared to be in very good condition, with only limited touch-up work appearing necessary. Stewart Glass and Falcon Engineering staff were also present voicing no objection at that time to David and Rodolfo being there.
Days afterward, however, signs went up warning that access to the roof by residents was not allowed. Property Manager Liran Shahar advised residents that the roof and construction areas were potential hazards and that non-Board and non-committee members were prohibited from being there.
Interestingly, as you will see on the $232,638.00 Page, the contract with Best Roofing included an allowance of $145,000 for concrete work. That was a major component of the deductive change order that morphed into an invoice and paid to Best Roofing.