A puddle of water formed on the polished granite lobby floor at 100 Eleventh Avenue and Todd Eberle, a photographer who lives on the fourth floor of the Jean Nouvel-designed glass-clad tower said "I don't know what that's about, but it's not good," according to an article today at the realdeal.com by Candace Taylor.

A photographer-at-large for Vanity Fair who has spent much of his career shooting architecture, Eberle is an avowed Nouvel devotee, the article said, adding that

"Before moving into 100 Eleventh Avenue in of the summer of 2010, he and partner Richard Pandiscio lived at 40 Mercer, another Nouvel-designed condo. They love their new apartment, its terrace with views of Frank Gehry's IAC Building, and the way changing patterns of light dance across the floor."

Yet, the article continued, "Eberle is one of a number of residents voicing concerns about the building. They claim Nouvel's design has not been executed properly due to delays and cost-cutting by the developers, Cape Advisors. These shortcuts have led to shoddy workmanship, they say, a viewpoint echoed in a number of lawsuits and applications to the Attorney General for the return of deposits....It's an opinion that Jean Nouvel himself has publicly expressed. The developers 'have gone off course,' he recently told the New York Times. 'They want to complete the building as inexpensively as possible and they want to take the money.'"

"During the real estate boom, the building's starchitecture pedigree and luxurious amenities lured celebrities and billionaire buyers, and more than 70 percent of its units had been sold at record prices when Lehman Brothers crashed. But, as at many new condos, the financial crisis plunged it into a stew of delays, cash shortfalls, broker turf wars and buyers demanding their money back. Cost overruns at 100 Eleventh Avenue sent Cape Advisors looking for new capital just as the financial crisis enveloped the city. More than half of the buyers in contract attempted to back out, according to people familiar with the matter, causing a number of deals to fall through.

"The project was on the verge of collapse when an unlikely hero emerged in the form of Howard Lorber, chairman of Nathan's Famous, the Vector Group and Prudential Douglas Elliman, the city's largest residential brokerage. At a crucial moment, Lorber and partners brought some $30 million of new funds to the project, allowing construction to continue," the article said, adding that "Lorber and his partners 'white-knighted it,' said one industry insider. 'They really saved the deal.'"

In many respects, 100 Eleventh Avenue is a success story. It could easily have stalled, like other ambitious starchitecture projects such as 56 Leonard Street, a Jenga-like tower by Herzog & de Meuron, and Dutch starchitect Ben van Berkel's 5 Franklin Place.

Instead, the tower was completed and owners are now ensconced in their new homes. "Frasier" star Kelsey Grammer recently bought in the building, and only 13 of the building's 54 units remain unsold, Elliman said.

A review of lawsuits, complaints to the AG and conversations with current residents reveal a litany of alleged problems.

Owners complain of leaks in the ceilings and in the much-vaunted glass-curtain wall -- the centerpiece of Nouvel's design. And several of the lawsuits argue that Lorber's involvement in the project amounts to a change of control, which should have automatically given purchasers their deposits back.

Residents' concerns about the project became public recently when Upper East Side designer Jennifer Post was hired to redesign the lobby, angering Nouvel purists. Nouvel's firm and others say the original plans for the lobby and adjoining garden were never properly implemented, even before the changes were made.