CHARLESTON – A Florida investor who bid $30 million to buy the evacuated Dockside complex is now suing the commercial real estate firm retained to sell the property.
Thompson Whitney Blake, the sole proprietor of South Dakota-based Domino LLC, purchased condominium 7A in July and has been on a mission to buy the Dockside building since. In a complaint filed in federal court Oct. 9, Domino is suing CBRE for marketing the entire property, including his unit without his consent or a written listing agreement.
He is asking that unit 7A be removed from all marketing material and sale discussions.
“These guys should not be representing the whole building down at city hall, talking about entitlements and zoning,” Blake told The Post and Courier.
He contends the firm is not representing the whole building and is acting as brokers, not lawyers or civil engineers.
In August, the co-owners of Dockside’s 133 condominiums and townhomes voted not to repair the building where the city mandated that residents evacuate in February due to structural concerns. Estimates had put the cost at $151 million or roughly a little over $1 million per unit.
The decision did not include whether the owners wanted to sell the building — that will be determined with another vote that has yet to be scheduled.
Per South Carolina law, in order for the building to sell, 100 percent of owners must agree to the sale. Currently, there has been no vote and no official agreement from any owners to sell.
But in September, the board of directors told The Post and Courier the August vote not to repair gave the board the authority to move forward with CBRE to market the property.
Blake disagrees.
The Dockside board has since retained Michael Carmody, sales and leasing broker with CBRE, to market the 3.3-acre property, including the 112 condos and 21 townhouses.
A representative of CBRE said the firm can’t comment on the lawsuit at this time.
According to the lawsuit, Ian Ford with Ford Wallace of Charleston, who is Domino’s counsel, has sent CBRE a cease-and-desist letter requesting they remove the Domino unit from any sales listing.
“We sent them emails. We called. Our lawyers noticed them,” Blake said. “These brokers refused to hit the brakes.”
While not directly named in the lawsuit, the Dockside board of directors is aware of its filing.
Lizzy DeLorme, the Dockside general manager, sent an email to co-owners on Oct. 11 alerting them of the lawsuit against CBRE for its work marketing the property.
“As most of you know, Domino LLC has proposed to buy the Dockside property at a price we believe is significantly below its estimated market value and has made it clear to us that they would vote no on any other proposed sale,” said the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Post and Courier.
“While Dockside Association is not a party to this lawsuit, we are certain that this lawsuit will delay the marketing of our property, costing us time, and could also have a detrimental effect on realizing our full value, therefore also costing us money,” DeLorme’s note said.
It was signed, “Your Dockside Board of Directors.”
Blake has been vocal about wanting a fast sale so that he could get co-owners out of the limbo they’re in and return money in their pockets. A federal lawsuit could take anywhere from 60 days to be reviewed and potentially tie up a Dockside sale for years.
Blake said if the dispute drags on in court, “I care as much as they care.”
“Charleston is a small town,” he said. “I’m not from Charleston so I don’t have to be worried about being pushed around.”