A real estate mogul who recently made headlines for controversial comments about employees has slammed a luxury apartment complex he developed by the building authority with “hundreds of defects.”
Millionaire developer Tim Gurner, 41, is behind the $156 million FV Flatiron residential skyscraper in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley.
Construction giant Brookfield Multiplex was awarded the contract to build the 30-storey complex for the CEO of the Gurner Group.
But the condominium’s legal entity is now suing the builder, claiming it is owed damages over multiple alleged defects that are widespread within the complex.
On September 13, the legal entity filed a claim with the Supreme Court.
A luxury apartment complex developed by outspoken real estate mogul Tim Gurner (pictured right with his wife Aimee) has been hit with ‘hundreds of defects’ by the building authority.
An updated defect register submitted as part of the claim listed ‘110 defects’ involving the building’s communal areas and private apartments, the claim said, as reported by The courier post.
The claim outlined problems with the building’s parking garage, changing rooms, tiles, apartments, fire doors and waterproofing system.
These alleged defects include ‘flammable cladding’, cracks in the concrete in the building’s parking garage, water ‘sticking’ and not draining onto the roof membrane and an inappropriate tile installation in the complex’s changing rooms.
Several residents of the luxury apartment complex have complained of water leaks, stains and mold on their ceilings, floors and furniture.
One of them claimed that the floor in their kitchen had become ‘soft’.
There were previous defects to the building’s rubbish chute which were dealt with by Brookfield Multiplex.
The legal entity alleges in its claim that the construction company breached its contract by not completing the project with due care and diligence and by not using quality materials.
It also claims that the staff involved in the construction of the building were not suitable for the task.
Construction giant Brookfield Multiplex built the $156 million residential skyscraper FV Flatiron in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley
Mr Gurner came under fire for controversial comments he made about workers and the unemployment rate at the Australian Financial Review’s Property Summit earlier this month.
Brookfield Multiplex had also failed to accept responsibility or liability for the alleged defects and failed to remedy them, according to the entity’s claim.
Since the case is in its early stages, no defense is required.
No hearing date has been set for the case.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Brookfield Multiplex and the Gurner Group for comment.
It comes weeks after Mr Gurner apologized for comments he made about workers and said the unemployment rate needed to rise by 40 to 50 per cent.
He argued that the Covid pandemic had changed the attitude of employees who had to remember that they worked for their bosses – and not the other way around.
“We need to see pain in the economy,” Gurner said at the Australian Financial Review’s Property Summit earlier this month.
‘We need to remind people that they work for the employer, not the other way around.’
His comments sparked a barrage of scathing criticism online, especially on the social networking site LinkedIn.
The 41-year-old told Daily Mail Australia he regretted the “insensitive” comments.
The property developer (pictured right) apologized for the comments and told Daily Mail Australia he was ‘deeply sorry’ for the comments he made which were ‘wrong’
“At the AFR Property Summit this week I made some comments about unemployment and productivity in Australia that I deeply regret and were wrong,” he said in a statement.
‘There are clearly important conversations to be had in this environment of high inflation, price pressure on housing and rental prices due to a lack of supply, and other cost of living issues.
“My comments were deeply insensitive to workers, traditions and families across Australia who are being affected by these cost of living pressures and job losses.
“I want to be clear: I appreciate that when someone loses their job it has a profound impact on them and their families, and I sincerely regret that my words did not convey empathy for those in that situation.”