A nearly $1 billion luxury development in South Florida has turned into a legal and financial nightmare — leaving wealthy homebuyers waiting years for unfinished condos and fighting to recover pricey seven-figure deposits.
The Mandarin Oriental Residences in Boca Raton, part of the sprawling Via Mizner development, was supposed to bring five-star hotel living, lavish amenities and multimillion-dollar homes to the upscale coastal city.
Instead, nearly a decade after the project was originally expected to be completed, construction has ground to a halt, the hotel portion is in bankruptcy and the condo building faces a $418 million foreclosure lawsuit, according to the New York Times.
At least 20 condo buyers are now seeking to escape their contracts and recover their deposits.
Among them is Nilesh Undavia, who agreed to purchase a four-bedroom condo for $5.5 million in 2022, putting down a staggering $1.65 million deposit.
His apartment, which promised two terraces and distant ocean views, was expected to be ready by the end of that year.
Four years later, he still has no home — and despite winning an arbitration ruling ordering the developer to return his deposit with interest, he has yet to recover his money.
“With the fanciness of that sales office, you’d never remotely think ‘these people don’t have enough money to finish it,'” Undavia told the Times. “It was like a river of money.”
Developer Penn-Florida Companies first announced the ambitious Via Mizner project in 2015, envisioning a 2.3-million-square-foot luxury destination featuring a 164-room Mandarin Oriental hotel, 85 branded residences connected by a skybridge, 366 rental apartments and 65,000 square feet of upscale retail and restaurants.
The development promised an array of lavish amenities, including a country club, a golf course and a wine cellar. Condo buyers were also offered access to an open-air cinema, a golf simulator, a rooftop infinity pool with cabanas, private padel and pickleball courts, and a residents-only bar and lounge.
A planned spa would feature a hammam, an infrared sauna, a steam room, and hot and cold plunge pools, alongside concierge services.
The entire development was initially expected to be finished by late 2017.
But nine years later, only the rental apartments are operating.
Penn-Florida says nearly $1 billion has already been invested in the project, blaming its troubles on the pandemic, hurricanes, construction delays, soaring costs, supply-chain disruptions and higher interest rates.
The rental portion filed for bankruptcy in early 2025 before emerging from the process with creditors paid. The hotel entered bankruptcy late last year and remains there.
The unfinished condo tower, meanwhile, is at the center of an escalating legal battle between the developer and its lender.
An affiliate of Madison Realty Capital is seeking to foreclose on the property, alleging that the developer defaulted on a $270 million loan and now owes nearly $418 million, including interest and fees.
Penn-Florida has fired back with its own lawsuit seeking more than $500 million in damages, accusing the lender of contributing to the project’s collapse by taking control of construction-related decisions and withholding critical funding.
The developer alleges that unpaid security guards abandoned the property, leaving the unfinished buildings vulnerable to vandalism and theft, while funding for temporary utilities and elevator inspections also dried up.
The project’s troubles could also cost it one of its biggest selling points: the prestigious Mandarin Oriental name.
The luxury hospitality company sent Penn-Florida a termination notice last year, alleging that the developer failed to reimburse $675,000 in expenses and meet certain reporting obligations.
In a statement to the Times, Mandarin Oriental said the development had failed to meet agreed-upon milestones despite repeated extensions, but declined to clarify whether its name would remain attached to the project.
Penn-Florida maintains that its agreement with the hotel brand remains in effect.
The Mandarin Oriental name has also appeared in another luxury condo dispute. In Manhattan, buyers of a $6.1 million apartment at the Mandarin Oriental Residences on Fifth Avenue sued developer Michael Shvo in 2024 over alleged construction defects, claims he disputed.
The uncertainty could create another headache for buyers who paid a premium for the promise of branded luxury living.
“People in Boca Raton, they like the sizzle,” James T. Ferrara, a Hinshaw & Culbertson attorney who has represented nearly a dozen condo buyers, told the Times. “If all of a sudden it’s no longer going to be a Mandarin Oriental, at that point I think we’re going to get more people trying to get out of their contracts.”
For buyers hoping to recover their deposits, the foreclosure proceedings pose an additional threat.
Florida law allows developers to use a portion of buyers’ deposits toward construction, and Undavia said he was informed that some of his money had already been spent.
If the foreclosure moves forward, the lender could have priority over buyers seeking refunds, potentially leaving little money available to repay them.
Penn-Florida executives remain optimistic that the development can eventually be completed.
Albert Piazza, the company’s executive vice president of development, told the Times that most buyers have chosen to remain under contract and that some residences could be completed within nine months once construction resumes.
For now, however, there is no clear timeline for work to restart.
And despite the unfinished buildings, lawsuits and mounting financial uncertainty, the Mandarin Oriental Residences sales office remains open.