Former building inspector denies getting copy of damning Florida condo study
Ex-inspector denies getting copy of damning Florida condo study
Chouela sent Prieto two reports, according to an email posted on the town’s website, the outlet reported.
One was the “structural field survey report” by Morabito that detailed the building’s structural deficiencies, and the other was a mechanical and electrical engineering report by Thomas E. Henz, P.E., according to the Herald.
Chouela also introduced the building inspector at the meeting with five of the seven board members, along with property manager Alexandria Santamaria, condo board lawyer Marilyn Perez and some residents, it added.
But Prieto told the Herald on Saturday that he didn’t recall receiving the report from Chouela, who had also provided cost estimates for the repairs — and also said he was unaware the town had received the report, which cited “abundant cracking.”
“I don’t know anything about it. That’s 2018,” he told the Herald.
Team of national scientists to visit Surfside collapse site
Team of national scientists to visit Surfside collapse site
The federal oversight team that investigated the World Trade Center collapse is now starting the process of probing the Surfside condo collapse.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology is sending a team of six scientists and engineers to the site of Thursday’s
partial building collapse at Champlain Towers South “to collect firsthand information,” the NIST confirmed to Local 10 News on Monday.
Surfside official was sent disturbing report. He told board condo was ‘in good shape’
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article252394393.html
“Not once did Morabito share with us any sense of urgency, at least not the residents,” Alvarez said, who lived on the 10th floor.
“He never said the building was falling apart. He said the repairs were to bring the building up to today’s standards of beauty.”
An estimate from Morabito at the time called for about $9 million in structural work. When he told residents,
“of course everybody freaked,” Alvarez said.
The average assessment for owners in the 136-unit building was about $100,000 apiece, she said.
Referring to the pool deck, the report said,
“the failed waterproofing is causing major structural damage to the concrete structural slab below these areas.” And referring to the garage, the report said,
“abundant cracking and spalling of varying degrees was observed in the concrete columns, beams, and walls.”
A lawyer for the condo association, Donna D. Berger, said in a post on social media that the 2018 report
“was posted on the association web site as were all the bids that were being obtained for the owners to see.” The board secured a line of credit to pay for the repairs, she said, and the board passed a special assessment.
Berger, in the social media post, emphasized that
“this board was proactive — undertook an engineering report four years before it was required. Obtaining financing to pay for the project and was in the process of replacing the roof which was needed to then use the staging straps to address the necessary concrete repairs.”
Unit owners at Champlain Towers South were expected to be assessed based on the square footage of their property. The Cordaros said they received a bill for $95,000 to pay for the building repairs and renovation. They said they sent the check just two weeks ago.
Cordaro said she was told the work had to do with the balcony and does not recall any discussion of foundation issues or plans to repair the issues with the garage. Cordaro said she was increasingly worried about leaving her car in the parking garage under the building.
“I was scared every time,’’ she told the Herald..
“There was always water in my spot, water on the floor, water coming up from the wall, and a big, big, big crack. And nobody would say nothing.”
The 2018 report said that the parking garage under the pool deck and planter slabs
“revealed signs of distress/fatigue...Several sizable [cracks in the concrete] were noted in both the topside of the entrance drive ramp and underside of the pool/entrance drive/planter slabs, which included instances with exposed, deteriorating rebar.”