Condo association in Charlotte’s “Pink Building” barred from removing reserved parking signs

A dispute over parking in The Arlington—the pink, 24-story condo building in Charlotte’s South End neighborhood—has resulted in a temporary restraining order being issued against the association representing property owners in the building.

Following an April 7 hearing, Mecklenburg County Superior Court Judge Gregory Hayes agreed to bar the Arlington Condominium Owners Association from removing signs designating 50 spaces in the building’s parking garage as reserved for customers of Nikko Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar.

Nikko, a well-known hotspot among Charlotte restaurant-goers, paid $2 million in 2007 to buy commercial space in The Arlington, according to Mecklenburg County property records.

But after the ACOA allegedly attempted to force Nikko out of the building unless it paid rent to use the parking spaces, Nikko’s owners fired back with a lawsuit that names every condo owner in the building as a defendant—more than 100 in all.

Among the named defendants is former Charlotte Bobcat Emeka Okafor.

Nix at Arlington LLC, which operates Nikko, claims in a March 28 complaint that its deed included a parking easement that gave it “exclusive and perpetual right” to use 50 parking spaces in the Arlington’s parking garage. Nix alleges those spaces are the only parking available to Nikko customers.

Nix said in the complaint that in a March 17 letter, the ACOA threatened to remove all existing signage indicating any reserved parking for Nikko.

“If the threatened action is taken, plaintiff, as the owner of the property on which Nikko’s restaurant operates, will suffer irreparable harm for which it has no adequate remedy at law, because the restaurant will have no designated parking for customers or employees,” the complaint said.

Nix alleges the ACOA is attempting to charge lease payments on the parking spaces despite there not being a lease in place.

Nix is seeking a court order saying the restaurant is entitled to use the 50 parking spaces in question free of charge. The complaint also asks that Nix’s attorney’s fees be covered by the ACOA.

The ACOA disputes that claim and has moved to dismiss the lawsuit. The ACOA says it is within its rights to charge the restaurant rent for the use of the parking spaces.

The lawsuit was first reported by Charlotte Agenda, a “user’s guide to Charlotte” website.

The temporary restraining order issued by Hayes on Thursday will keep the reserved parking signs in place for the next 10 days. Hayes could extend the order at the end of the 10-day period to allow the lawsuit to proceed.

Nix has hired attorneys from the Charlotte office of Horack, Talley, Pharr & Lowndes to represent the restaurant owners. Horack Talley partner Robert McNeil declined to comment on the case, citing the ongoing nature of the litigation.

The ACOA is represented by Katten Muchin Rosenman. Attorneys for the association did not return calls seeking comment.

Nix’s lawsuit is the latest round of litigation involving The Arlington.

In 2013, the building’s developer, Arlington Commercial Holdings LLL., was found to have been “unjustly enriched” and its former owner, James J. “Jim” Gross, was found to have violated his fiduciary duties to the ACOA.

That lawsuit arose out of Gross’ time as president of the ACOA. Under his leadership, the ACOA began looking into leases and expenses related to the parking garage’s maintenance.

The condo association, which includes commercial tenants, is responsible for covering the cost of water, electricity, security and maintenance out of dues paid by property owners in the condo tower and a separate office building located on the property.

When Arlington Commercial Holdings sold the building to SRS Arlington Offices LLC in 2008, part of the deal included an agreement in which SRS agreed to lease 100 spaces in the parking garage. SRS also agreed to provide utilities, garage maintenance, security and landscaping for a fee.

The ACOA later discovered that the office building’s tenants were using unapproved parking spaces and that all buildings were tied to the same utility metering system. The condo association asked SRS to pay rent and maintenance fees.

The two sides settled their disagreement in 2011, with SRS agreeing to pay the ACOA $125,000. The company also entered into a lease for parking space fees, as well as fees for utilities and maintenance.

That settlement did not cover legal claims against Arlington Commercial Holdings and Gross, which included allegations that the company had collected money for services provided by the ACOA and that Gross, as an association officer, had breached his fiduciary duty by entering into the contract with SRS and collecting payments.

A Superior Court judge ultimately sided with the ACOA and entered a $101,544 judgment against Arlington Commercial Holdings and Gross.

After that judgment was upheld by the N.C. Court of Appeals, the company and Gross asked the N.C. Supreme Court to consider the case. The high court denied that request in March 2015.