In Florida, land for development is selling at a premium these days. Developers can reap tremendous financial rewards from a successfully executed real estate project. But they must also put up a great deal of capital in order to bring their plans to fruition. This means it is critical for everything to go as planned once construction commences. Should a construction project be halted due to a dispute, large sums of money could be lost.
Recently in Deerfield Beach, the construction of 69 townhomes was stopped by the Florida Division of Historical Resources. The stoppage was due to the discovery of items that included two gold-capped teeth, human skull fragments and what appeared to be coffin parts. It is said that the land on which the townhouses were being built once contained a cemetery that served black residents in the early half of the 20th century.
This particular project had been mired in controversy. It was known that the cemetery was once part of this parcel of land. But in spite of the protests of many residents, the city commission granted a Boca Raton developer permission to build on the site. Two studies had previously concluded that all the human remains had been removed from the area.
As of the writing of this post, the project is still in limbo as further investigations are being conducted.
So currently, the developer is stuck on hold until this situation is cleared up. In a worst-case scenario for the developer, the project will be disallowed. Therefore, any developer in this sort of precarious situation could likely use the services of a Florida construction litigation attorney.
If you are a developer who has become embroiled in a construction dispute, an attorney who is familiar with construction laws and statutes may be able to help protect your interests and resolve your potentially costly conflicts.
Source: Local 10 News, “Human skull fragments, gold-capped teeth found at Deerfield Beach construction site,” Bob Norman, June 9, 2015
