Posted: March 9, 2017

In June of 2014, as detailed here on the PPEHOA site, Christopher Longsworth, Founder/Chief Executive Officer, INVESCA Development Group, called me to introduce himself. He explained that City of Plantation Mayor, Diane Veltri Bendekovic, told him to contact me about his plan to redevelop the Plantation Business Park across the street from my residence.

His plan to develop the property from commercial to residential was opposed by the community and many of the City Council members and needed my help to convey to them the benefit of welcoming the INVESCA Development Group proposal.

All I asked in return for my assistance was a commitment from the Founder/Chief Executive Officer, INVESCA Development Group that the swale area directly across the street from my residence was brought up to code and that there would not be any entrance from the Plantation Park East community to the property.

The Plantation Business Park had been in decline for many years, the property was not maintained to City of Plantation Ordinances bringing crime, vagrants and declining property values.

The Plantation Park East Homeowners Association opposed the project because they wanted jobs for the community. The property had been zoned light commercial for over thirty years and no one could say that anyone from the community had ever been employed by any business located at the Plantation Business Park.

After numerous City Council meetings to get approval for the rezoning, standing before the City Council, I told the City Council members that after thirty years, nothing had improved and there is no indication of change from the disrepair and empty buildings, it was time for a change.

The Plantation City Council approved the project and after one other meeting with Christopher Longsworth, Founder/Chief Executive Officer, INVESCA Development Group, no longer returned phone calls, he was always in a meeting and completely stopped any communication.

Three YEARS later the property is still not up to City of Plantation Ordinances, the swale is an eye sore that invites trash and the occasional individual stopping their car, getting out and urinating on the wall, having caught and berating three people doing it. The swale looks like a dump and people are treating the property accordingly, as a dump.

Writing this for any future community dealing with the INVESCA Development Group!

Instead of working together to get improvements, that could have been negotiated, from improved lighting, a pet path along the swale, timeframe of completion or input on any upgrades to improve the community, the Plantation Park East Homeowners Association opposed everything up until the ninth hour, losing the ability to negotiate improvements.

As a result, I would recommend that if the INVESCA Development Group’s Christopher Longsworth, Founder/Chief Executive Officer comes to your community to develop I would not trust a word he says. Make sure anything and everything is in writing.

During this time, having some interaction with the labor that is working on the property demolition, the INVESCA Development Group uses undocumented workers who have done the tear down of the existing buildings.

Insure any interaction with the INVESCA Development Group be in writing and do not trust any verbal agreement with Christopher Longsworth, Founder/Chief Executive Officer, INVESCA Development Group! Make sure time frames and business practice is in writing, as well as, any type of labor utilized on site.

Update: October 16, 2018

Summer of 2018 finally has a small number of Strata at Plantation buyers move into their Strata at Plantation townhouses. Back in April and May of 2018 I posted copies of reviews of the dissatisfied buyers that were especially about the multi-year delays in finishing the project. The commitment made by the Strata at Plantation sales staff of the completion date of each section but they were constantly rebuffed after Christopher Longsworth INVESCA Development Group, Strata at Plantation got their money.

Costs of renting during the delays continued to the point that some buyers were upset and posted negative reviews on Facebook, Google and Better Business Bureau (BBB) website pages of INVESCA Development Group and Group, Strata at Plantation.

Speaking to a couple of those customers, in order to cancel their contracts and get a full refund they would have to sign Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA) and they would have to have their negative reviews removed. The links on the April and May posts will lead to error pages today.

The City of Plantation City Council works for Christopher Longsworth’s, INVESCA Development Group. Between the City Attorney stopping the adjournment of a City Council meeting to the contributions to Council President Lynn Stoner for her Mayoral Campaign and absolutely NO FINE for the continued Violations of City of Plantation Ordinances and Special Treatment at the Special Magistrates meeting, in my opinion Christopher Longsworth has bought the City of Plantation!

According to City of Plantation Ordinances, no political signs are to be posted on the swale of any property within the City of Plantation. Yet, October 10, 2018, Christopher Longsworth posted Interstate sized political signs promoting Lynn Stoner for Mayor!

On October 10th the Code Enforcement officer stopped by my home and told me he would notify Christopher Longsworth of the violation but as of today he has yet to be cited for the violation.