Stonington - The internationally acclaimed architectural firm that designed the luxury Stonington Commons project in the borough has been ordered to pay the project's developers more than $5 million for designing windows and doors that leak.

Since residents moved into the renovated Monsanto mill complex in 2007, they have complained about an array of structural problems in the condominiums that cost between $500,000 and $2 million to fix - including windows that leaked in wind-driven rain. It also was difficult for residents to keep the units warm in the winter, which was the subject of a separate action against another firm.

In 2008, the condominium association filed a lawsuit against the project developer, Stonington Water Street Associates. The two parties agreed to a settlement in which Stonington Water Street Associates paid the condominium association $4.5 million. Extensive repairs began last year and are almost complete. Stonington Water Street Associates then sought to recover the $4.5 million award from Beyer, Blinder & Belle Architects & Planners, the firm that designed the $30 million project.

Under terms of the contract between the two parties, the dispute went before a panel of the American Arbitration Association, which this month awarded Stonington Water Street Associates more than $5.3 million. Attorney Timothy Corey, who represented the condominium owners in their lawsuit against Stonington Water Street Associates and then Stonington Water Street Associates in its arbitration with Beyer Blinder Belle, said Tuesday the $5.3 million will be assigned to the condominium association.

"The residents are finally getting what they paid for and deserve," he said. "They have been patient and tolerant, even though this was a disruption to their lives."

The attorney representing Beyer Blinder Belle, Michael Byrne of Stamford, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

During public hearings on the project almost 15 years ago, Stonington Water Street Associates touted the expertise of Beyer Blinder Belle, which has designed work on some of New York City's most famous landmarks, such as the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, Rockefeller Center, the Apollo Theater, Lincoln Center and Grand Central Terminal.

With offices in New York City and Washington, D.C., the firm has designed projects at numerous colleges including Columbia, Harvard, Dartmouth and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It also has designed projects at the U.S. Capitol and the Smithsonian Institution, and the new entrance to the Washington Monument.

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