The developer of a delayed $38 million apartment property near the University of Albany in Albany, New York, has filed a lawsuit against its architect, alleging a “breach of contract and negligence” in its design, according to ABC News affiliate WRGB Albany.
In the lawsuit, New York City-based DMG Investments states that the architect, Rochester-based Razak Associates, failed to provide drawings or designs for the Air Albany project that “met all code and legal requirements.” It also states that the building constitutes a fire hazard as it does not incorporate fire-retardant wood studs, according to WRGB.
The plaintiff seeks $2.5 million from Razak to address the building’s alleged issues. Neither DMG Investments nor Razak Associates responded to requests for comment from Multifamily Dive.
Construction at Air Albany began in 2020 and stopped in 2023, according to WRGB. Several contractors filed millions of dollars in liens against the property that same year, according to the Albany Times-Union. While the 137-unit property’s website lists its opening timeframe as spring 2025, its construction permit expired in February. The building is topped out and fully enclosed, with a portion of its windows installed, according to WRGB Albany.
Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, Albany’s Industrial Development Agency sent a letter to DMG Investments stating that the company was in default of its project agreement, which required the property to be complete by Aug. 21, 2024, according to the Albany Times-Union. The agency asked the firm to rectify its defaults within 30 days, or else face the revocation of its tax exemptions for Air Albany, which totaled $14 million in an agreement signed in 2020.
DMG Investments has $700 million in assets under management at more than 10 properties in New York, New Jersey, Texas, Tennessee, Wisconsin and South Carolina, according to the company website. Air Albany is the second of two properties in the developer’s Air Living multifamily brand — the first, Air Buffalo, opened in Buffalo, New York, in 2022. Air Albany is not currently listed in the company’s online portfolio.
