An ocean-front condominium building in Miami Beach was ordered evacuated Thursday after it was deemed structurally unsafe.
Residents of the Port Royale, a 164-unit building at 6969 Collins Ave., were required to vacate the building immediately after an engineer discovered that a main support beam identified for repair 10 months ago had shifted and that a crack in the beam had expanded, Miami Beach officials said.
The building is the process of undergoing a 50-year required recertification. A structural engineering report also noted other structural supports may need repair as well. At least one observer said the damage extends beyond a single support beam.
“There’s cracks in the column, cracks in the base, I mean in the garage, in the two storage garages, there’s cracks in the beams, everywhere,” said Marsh Markaj, a building resident who said he works in construction and noticed the problems.
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Inspection Engineers Inc. said in a letter to the city that it's working to obtain a city permit so that “comprehensive shoring” can be installed within 10 days. That will be followed by another inspection of the building.
During an inspection about 10 months ago, engineers found “areas of concern that we designated as a priority to be repaired,” Arshad Vioar said in an email sent to the Miami Beach Building Department.
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The building’s association selected a contractor and the repairs started about four weeks ago. The firm that inspected the building was asked to supervise the work and this week “noticed that one of the main beams in the garage had experienced a structural deflection of approximately ½ inch and also the existing crack that was marked for repair had extended,” Vioar said in the email.
Engineers aren't sure whether the damaged beam supports the entire structure because they don't have the original specs.
A number of South Florida buildings have been evacuated in similar safety scares following an audit of high-rise buildings 40 years or older after the 2021 collapse of the Champlain Towers South condo in Surfside that killed 98 people. The Port Royale is about 1.3 miles south of the Champlain Towers.
The Champlain Towers South collapse focused scrutiny on the structural integrity of aging condominium towers throughout Florida, especially along its coastlines, and the state has since moved to strengthen laws requiring inspections and periodic recertification of buildings.
Miami-Dade County had required the first recertification only after 40 years and the Surfside building was undergoing that recertification process when it collapsed. New state rules signed into law in May require buildings to have their first recertification after 30 years, or 25 if they are within 3 miles of the coast, and then every 10 years thereafter.
Miami-Dade also now requires building owners to provide up to three months of housing and associated costs if officials determine their building was unsafe as a result of negligent maintenance.
"The tenant relocation ordinance will apply to those who rent in the building as required by municipal code," the city said in a statement.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
