A Brickell Key buyer can receive every condo document Florida law requires, review all of it within the seven-day window, and still not see the biggest open financial question on the island. According to The Real Deal, that question is a $32.3 million assessment for seawall and baywalk work. It was levied by the Brickell Key Master Association, and in May 2026 five condo associations challenged it in Miami-Dade Circuit Court.
The building's own paperwork can miss it because Brickell Key has two layers of governance. Each of the island's roughly 11 condo buildings has its own association. Above them sits a master association that Swire Properties has controlled since 1982. Florida's resale disclosure rules were written around the first layer. The seawall assessment belongs to the second.
What the statutory package actually covers
Under Section 718.503 of the 2026 Florida Statutes, a buyer who signs a contract on a resale condo is entitled, at the seller's expense, to a specific set of documents. Those are the declaration of condominium, the association's articles of incorporation, its bylaws and rules, its annual financial statement and budget, the inspector-prepared summary of the milestone inspection report if one applies, the most recent structural integrity reserve study or a statement that none has been completed, a turnover inspection report where applicable, and the state's Frequently Asked Questions and Answers document. The buyer also gets a governance form from the state's condominium division.
The contract has to give the buyer seven days, excluding weekends and legal holidays, to cancel in writing after receiving those documents, unless the documents were delivered more than seven days before signing. That right ends at closing. Contracts signed after December 31, 2024 must also say whether the association has completed its milestone inspection and structural integrity reserve study, or is not required to. You can read the full text of Section 718.503 on the Florida Senate site.
Every item on that list describes the condominium association. The budget is the building's budget, and the reserve study covers the building's structural components. A Brickell Key One or Isola package can be complete and accurate and still contain nothing about a seawall project run by a different legal entity.
The seawall bill, as it was first presented
The master association laid out the project in a September 10, 2025 presentation. The Real Deal reported an estimate of about $42 million for the full seawall replacement, with construction possibly starting in 2026. Owners of the island's nearly 3,000 condos were offered three ways to pay. Shares would be calculated on interior square footage plus 50 percent of balcony space, and the association planned to start collecting in the first quarter of 2026, with financing term sheets from Banco Popular and BankUnited.
The October 2025 reporting on that presentation included these per-unit examples:
| Unit size | Lump sum | Financed |
|---|---|---|
| 600 sq. ft. | $3,581 | $5,565 |
| 2,500 sq. ft. | $14,921 | $20,319 |
The presentation put the cost at about $6 to more than $8 per square foot, depending on the payment option. These are 2025 estimates tied to the $42 million project figure. The $32.3 million assessment named in the 2026 lawsuit is a different number, and the public reporting does not explain how the two relate. Treat the table as a guide to how the charge is structured, not as anyone's current bill.
Swire planned to pay about $8.4 million, roughly 20 percent of the estimated cost. That covers the 1,300 linear feet of seawall in front of the Mandarin Residences site, which left the master association responsible for the other 4,600 feet. The master association's governing documents would require only a 1.8 percent contribution from Swire. A Swire spokesperson said its planned contribution exceeds its pro-rata share.
Why the number is still unsettled in October 2026
In May 2026, the Brickell Key One, Brickell Key Two, Isola, Courvoisier Courts and Carbonell condominium associations sued Swire. They allege owners are being charged for seawall and baywalk work on property that is not Brickell Key common property, and they note that Swire, its affiliates and the City of Miami own most of the seawall. The suit also argues that the master association should have been turned over to unit owners. According to The Real Deal's June 2026 coverage, the plaintiffs say turnover should have happened in 2014, when the island's last condo building was conveyed to residents. They point to 1981 governing documents that gave Swire sole authority to appoint the master board and two votes for every unit-owner vote.
Swire has said it regrets that the matter turned into litigation and is confident that it and the master association have always complied with the law. The owners' side has its own complication. An August 2024 seawall inspection commissioned by the master association found that "no immediate structural repairs are required at this time," but the owners' attorney noted that the same report showed deterioration progressing since the first inspection in 2014.
The legal framework matters too. Attorneys quoted by The Real Deal said master associations for mixed communities such as Brickell Key, which includes offices, generally fall under Florida's HOA act. That act has no hard turnover deadline like the seven-year limit in the condo act. The reporting available through early October 2026 does not show a ruling, a revised per-unit amount, or a confirmed collection or construction start. For a buyer, that means the master-association obligation on any given unit may be paid in full, partly paid on an installment plan, financed, disputed, or some combination. Only one document will tell you which.
The line on the estoppel that points to the right door
Before closing, the condo association issues an estoppel certificate. Under Section 718.116(8), it has 10 business days to respond to a request, and the certificate must itemize every assessment, special assessment and other amount owed to the association, plus amounts scheduled to come due during its effective period. The operative words are "to the association." The building's estoppel speaks for the building.
Item j of the statutory form is the one Brickell Key buyers should read first. It requires "a list of, and contact information for, all other associations of which the unit is a member." On Brickell Key, that line should lead to the Brickell Key Master Association. A separate estoppel from that entity is what shows whether a seawall balance, an installment schedule or a financed amount is attached to the unit. The parallel estoppel rule for HOAs works the same way under Section 720.30851, itemizing sums owed to that association and listing others. Whether the separate HOA disclosure summary under Section 720.401 applies depends on the master association's legal status and documents, because that statute excludes associations regulated under the condo act.
In practice, a careful Brickell Key file usually includes these steps:
- Order the condo estoppel early and read item j as soon as it arrives.
- Request a separate estoppel from the Brickell Key Master Association for the same unit.
- Ask whether the seller chose the lump-sum, quarterly or loan option, and what balance remains.
- Ask for the prior 12 months of board and member meeting minutes for both associations.
- Settle in the contract who pays any assessment levied or still being discussed.
The standard Florida Realtors and Florida Bar condominium rider already supports steps four and five. It lets a buyer request 12 months of board and member meeting minutes and agendas, with a seven-day cancellation period after receiving them. It asks the seller to disclose assessments levied or discussed at board meetings in the prior year. By default, the seller pays assessments levied by closing, and the buyer may take over later installments if the association allows it. When an assessment is under legal challenge, "levied by closing" is a phrase both parties should define in writing.
Why buyers have room to ask
The wider market gives buyers time for this diligence. MIAMI REALTORS reported Miami-Dade condo inventory at 12.1 months of supply in August 2026, with a median sale price of $408,000, down 0.49 percent year over year. The same August report put the median condo at 66 days from listing to contract and 108 days to sale. These are countywide figures, not Brickell Key alone. Still, a market with a year of supply usually leaves room for a buyer to request a second estoppel and negotiate who carries a disputed assessment.
The island's redevelopment adds one more reason to read master-association records closely. Swire imploded the Mandarin Oriental hotel in April 2026 to make way for a two-tower condo and hotel project. A $240 million new-building permit for 1 Island Drive was issued in July 2026. Miami Today reported in June 2026 that the project is expected to be finished in 2030. Next door, The Real Deal reported in April 2026 that Related Group and Terra were negotiating a buyout of the 134-unit St. Louis at 800 Claughton Island Drive. The building's declaration allows termination with 80 percent owner approval. No completed deal had been reported as of the latest coverage found.
Questions Brickell Key buyers raise
Will the condo's structural integrity reserve study show the seawall? The reserve study covers the condominium association's own components. The seawall project is run by the master association, so expect to find its details in master-association records and that entity's estoppel.
If the lawsuit succeeds, does the assessment go away? The reporting does not say how a ruling would change amounts already billed or paid. Allocation language in the contract matters because nobody can predict the outcome.
Does the seven-day cancellation right apply to master-association documents? The statutory seven-day window is tied to the condo documents listed in Section 718.503. The rider's separate seven-day period applies to minutes and records the buyer requests under that provision. Have an attorney confirm how both apply to your contract.
Are the 2025 per-unit figures what a seller owes today? They were estimates from a 2025 presentation tied to a $42 million project figure. The current balance on a specific unit comes only from the master association.
This is general information about how Florida's resale rules work on Brickell Key. It is not legal advice, and contract language should be reviewed by a Florida real estate attorney.
If you are buying or selling on Brickell Key and want both estoppels requested, read and negotiated before the clock starts, Alive Sherman can walk you through how the master association affects your specific unit. Book an Appointment to start with the documents.
