Fort Lauderdale condo's $1.6 million repair grows into $36 million overhaul, frustrating residents

Residents of the Galleon condominium on Fort Lauderdale's Galt Ocean Mile say a concrete restoration project that began at $1.6 million has grown into a $36 million overhaul, with individual unit owners assessed between $135,000 and $320,000 each.Work at the oceanfront building has been underway for five years. Construction spans multiple floors, and the pool and patio, once a beachside oasis, have been reduced to a concrete platform.Residents frustrated by the length and cost of the work contacted CBS News Miami.Sergio Cella, a pilot and mechanical engineer who has lived at the Galleon for 30 years, said that after three failed attempts to fix cracking on his 14th-floor balcony, he has had enough."The quality is not there," Cella said. "It's not questionable. It's despicable."Hartzel, the contractor, defended the work in a written statement to CBS News Miami."The original contract covered the limited scope of structural restoration work," an executive said. "As construction progressed