WELLINGTON MOLD-RIDDLED PROPERTY MAY BE RAZED

WELLINGTON — A multifamily home riddled with toxic mold in Wellington could be demolished as early as next week after the owner and the bank that holds the title missed a village-imposed deadline on the plans to correct the issue.

The property’s fate has been in question since February, when inspectors found mold lurking under sinks and in bedrooms in the 1990s-era building that four families called home. The mold wasn’t just any mold, it was what is known as Stachybotrys — toxic black mold.

The families had to move out when the pair of buildings, in the 1100 block of White Pine Drive, was declared unsafe. The property is owned by AIG Enterprise Corp., but last year Wells Fargo Bank moved to foreclose, according to court records.

A Palm Beach County judge left it up to the owner and foreclosing bank to decide whether to make repairs or demolish the building. They had until Friday to declare how the problem would be fixed. But when business came to a close Friday, no plans had been submitted, officials said.

AIG corporate officer and property manager Isaac Antoine and a contractor submitted a permit application late last week, but there were no plans and the check was declined for insufficient funds, Wellington Planning, Zoning and Building Director Bob Basehart said.

New plans were submitted by Antoine this week for tile work in the kitchens and bathrooms in each unit, but that still is not sufficient to remedy the extent of the mold, Basehart said.

“Nobody has submitted anything beyond that,” he said.

Village Attorney Laurie Cohen has been in touch with Wells Fargo. She said the bank reached out to her Friday evening saying it did not want to do the demolition.

“I told them to get their contractor there Monday morning, and we haven’t heard from them,” Cohen said.

Building official Jacek Tomasik is doing the demolition, Basehart said. There is a 10-day waiting period before that can happen, but Tomasik has asked for a waiver that would move up the timeline.

At this point, the demolition looks extremely likely, Basehart said.

“It could be stopped if the bank stepped in and submitted a plan to do everything that really needs to be done, but I don’t see that happening,” he said.

Antoine asserts the village did not inform him of the bounced check and faulted his contractor. He also said no one told him the plans for tile work were insufficient.

“I think they (Wellington) might have something against me personally,” he said, adding that he spoke to Tomasik this week and the building official did not mention the plans.

“Let them demolition it,” Antoine said. “Now I’ll just let them do it.”

But Basehart disputed that, saying Tomasik did inform Antoine the plans were not up to snuff. “Nobody has submitted sufficient plans,” he said.