FL- 12 Story Condo Partial Building Collapse, many still unaccounted for, Miami, 24 June 2021

[cady]

I believe that in the coming weeks and months, there will be numerous investigations and many tough questions will be asked in determining the root causes of the catastrophic condo building collapse.

Not only will investigators be looking into the current location of the condo, it will be looking into all aspects of how the condo was designed, constructed, and maintained. There is the possibility that professional malfeasance may also be involved.

I forsee years of litigation in the courts over this condo building collapse.

I believe that years from now after the root causes of this catastrophic condo building collapse have been determined, there will be more stringent standards concerning the development and construction of high rise buildings in coastal areas.

We can hope so, but there are a lot of anti-regulationists out there......much to the detriment of unwitting consumers. JMO

 

[indicolite22]

From this article:

Florida survivor recalls escape from collapsing condo

Monteagudo, who is in her 50s, woke up from a restless sleep and heard strange noises. She initially believed they came from the open sliding door to the oceanfront balcony.

“I ran and tried to close it but I couldn’t, I imagine because it was unlevel already because of all the movement,” she recounted. “I heard a crack and when I looked, I saw a crack traveling in the wall two fingers thick. Something told me, you need to run.”

--

Monteagudo said she purchased apartment 611 in December, and was upset that she learned about structural issues after the sale. She paid $600,000 for the two bedroom, two bath condo with an ocean view, according to Zillow.

“They never told us anything” Monteagudo said. “Then they suddenly make us make an extra $1,000 special assessment for all these repairs they need to do. We are supposed to start paying in July.”

“What happened?”

What an incredible story, if true. She had enough time to escape between noticing the cracks and the collapse. Her apartment was facing the pool and was in the part that fell first. Luckily the stairwell was on the side that remains standing (next to the elevators I think).

 

[dixiegirl1035]

What an incredible story, if true. She had enough time to escape between noticing the cracks and the collapse. Her apartment was facing the pool and was in the part that fell first. Luckily the stairwell was on the side that remains standing (next to the elevators I think).

As a Ws'er...any more explicit as to where in building this happened. I still have not seen a visual of such apt #'s. Will they go after the city? We shall see.

 

[Dontknow?]

Surfside Official Told Residents Their Building Was Safe, Despite Engineer's Warning

Just one month after an engineering report warned of "major structural damage" that required immediate repair, a Surfside, Fla. official assured residents of Chaplain Towers South that their building was sound.

NPR has obtained minutes of a Nov. 2018 meeting that shows a Surfside town inspector met with residents of the building, and assured them the building was "in very good shape." That directly conflicts with an engineering report from five weeks earlier, which warned that failed waterproofing in a concrete structural slab needed to be replaced "in the near future."

The engineering report was dated Oct. 8, Residents were given a reassurance2018. At a Nov. 15 board meeting of the Champlain Tower South Condominium Association, a building official from the town of Surfside, Ross Prieto, appeared to discuss that report. "Structural engineer report was reviewed by Mr. Prieto," the meeting minutes say. "It appears the building is in very good shape."
Surfside Official Told Residents Their Building Was Safe, Despite Engineer's Warning

 

[indicolite22]

As a Ws'er...any more explicit as to where in building this happened. I still have not seen a visual of such apt #'s. Will they go after the city? We shall see.

I will try to upload a suitable pic of the floor plan (from here). I figured out the apartment numbers when I compared the views on Zillow with Google street views.

 

[Dontknow?]

Stefanie Dazio
@steffdaz
3m

SURFSIDE, Fla. (
@AP
) — Officials bus relatives close to site of collapsed Florida building; families have been frustrated by lack of access.

 

[indicolite22]

I will try to upload a suitable pic of the floor plan (from here). I figured out the apartment numbers when I compared the views on Zillow with Google street views.

I added apt #'s (last one or two digits) in red to the floor plan from page 10. Apartments with #'s ending with 5-9 are in the part of the building that is still standing.

The lady who escaped lived in apt #611.

 

[Chelly]

People love living in high rise buildings on our barrier islands...the view, the ocean, the prestige, the amenities. Builders, home-owners, government officials have for decades ignored that Miami Beach is a disaster in the making.

There is nothing sudden about rising sea-levels, disappearing shorelines, corrosiveness of sea-water and weather, plus the dangers of building on unstable ground and shoddy construction. As long as people are willing to pay for a certain lifestyle, nothing will change. I doubt this tragedy will be a wake up call. my opinion only.

 

[MaryG12]

High-rise condo residents in Sarasota say Miami building collapse hits close to home

The Surfside condo collapse and Dolphin Tower non-collapse comparison

Does anyone know the geological makeup of the land where the Surfside condo was built?

 

[Chelly]

I believe that in the coming weeks and months, there will be numerous investigations and many tough questions will be asked in determining the root causes of the catastrophic condo building collapse.

Not only will investigators be looking into the current location of the condo, it will be looking into all aspects of how the condo was designed, constructed, and maintained. There is the possibility that professional malfeasance may also be involved.

I forsee years of litigation in the courts over this condo building collapse.

I believe that years from now after the root causes of this catastrophic condo building collapse have been determined, there will be more stringent standards concerning the development and construction of high rise buildings in coastal areas.

I don't think we can afford to wait "years from now". Change needs to happen now. Actually, change should have begun decades ago. my opinion.

 

[MaryG12]

People love living in high rise buildings on our barrier islands...the view, the ocean, the prestige, the amenities. Builders, home-owners, government officials have for decades ignored that Miami Beach is a disaster in the making.

There is nothing sudden about rising sea-levels, disappearing shorelines, corrosiveness of sea-water and weather, the danger building on unstable ground and shoddy construction. As long as people are willing to pay for a certain lifestyle, nothing will change. I doubt this tragedy will be a wake up call. my opinion only.

Excellent post and in many ways answers my question up above.

To be fair, I will say that Miami Beach and Miami on the whole is overbuilt and very closely resembles New York City.

I personally see no appeal to living on the beach nor living in a condo built upon what, sand and Miami limestone. Especially when it's not just one condo but a whole series of high-rises.

This condo collapse is a horrible tragedy, but there is no logic in building of this magnitude right on the Florida Atlantic shoreline. I am not going to say that this state was not meant to be inhabited by people, but there needs to be some level of common sense when it comes to land development in the state of Florida and I just do not see it.

MOO

 

[10ofRods]

High-rise condo residents in Sarasota say Miami building collapse hits close to home

The Surfside condo collapse and Dolphin Tower non-collapse comparison

Does anyone know the geological makeup of the land where the Surfside condo was built?

More than one geologist has gone on record saying that the Florida barrier islands are made of "sand and mud," and that they have been moving/shifting over the past 60 years for which there is data, with more movement in the past year than any other. The "island" may be splitting in two. Over the long term of course. The islands were built by "accretion" and are constantly shifting.

https://keckgeology.org/files/pdf/symvol/13th/Florida/novakowski.pdf

 

[GatorFL]

High-rise condo residents in Sarasota say Miami building collapse hits close to home

The Surfside condo collapse and Dolphin Tower non-collapse comparison

Does anyone know the geological makeup of the land where the Surfside condo was built?

It's all limestone.

These condos all have the same building pattern. The developer sinks pylons deep into the bedrock to create a foundation. Of course the pylons are steel and concrete so they are subject to corrosion.

And Surfside isn't the only town with the king tide and other various flooding issues. From Miami Beach north to Jupiter, every town experiences issues doing king tide and other flooding events. I was driving on Palm Beach late last year during a storm and the amount of water on A1A was concerning. at least 1' deep and it looked like more was coming, right from the Intracoastal.

Glad I live way out west, 7 miles from the coastline. My elevation is 16' and I've carried flood insurance for years.

 

[GatorFL]

Excellent post and in many ways answers my question up above.

To be fair, I will say that Miami Beach and Miami on the whole is overbuilt and very closely resembles New York City.

I personally see no appeal to living on the beach nor living in a condo built upon what, sand and Miami limestone. Especially when it's not just one condo but a whole series of high-rises.

This condo collapse is a horrible tragedy, but there is no logic in building of this magnitude right on the Florida Atlantic shoreline. I am not going to say that this state was not meant to be inhabited by people, but there needs to be some level of common sense when it comes to land development in the state of Florida and I just do not see it.

MOO

Florida is the hottest real estate market in the country right now for lots of reasons. If you think it's overbuilt now wait 10 years.

 

[cady]

High-rise condo residents in Sarasota say Miami building collapse hits close to home

The Surfside condo collapse and Dolphin Tower non-collapse comparison

Does anyone know the geological makeup of the land where the Surfside condo was built?

I heard a snippet yesterday that it is porous limestone. But don't take that to the bank! I don't know who was being interviewed. JMO

 

[GatorFL]

More than one geologist has gone on record saying that the Florida barrier islands are made of "sand and mud," and that they have been moving/shifting over the past 60 years for which there is data, with more movement in the past year than any other. The "island" may be splitting in two. Over the long term of course. The islands were built by "accretion" and are constantly shifting.

https://keckgeology.org/files/pdf/symvol/13th/Florida/novakowski.pdf

This study is about the west coast of Florida, not the east coast. The makeup of barrier islands over there is different for sure. I don't think this study you linked accurately describes the geology of the barrier islands on the east coast nor Surfside.

 

[MaryG12]

Florida is the hottest real estate market in the country right now for lots of reasons. If you think it's overbuilt now wait 10 years.

Yes so I heard:

900 People a Day Are Moving to Florida

 

[GatorFL]

Yes so I heard:

900 People a Day Are Moving to Florida

Developers are strong-arming municipalities to rubber stamp new neighborhoods everywhere here right now. I'm in Palm Beach and like Broward and Miami Dade we are basically built to capacity. The developers don't care, they buy a small parcel of land and jam as many houses as they can on it. Even in the nicest towns they're jamming in multifamily homes. My own town council actually rejected a proposal about a month ago, but only after an uprising from the residents.

 

[MaryG12]

Developers are strong-arming municipalities to rubber stamp new neighborhoods everywhere here right now. I'm in Palm Beach and like Broward and Miami Dade we are basically built to capacity. The developers don't care, they buy a small parcel of land and jam as many houses as they can on it. Even in the nicest towns they're jamming in multifamily homes. My own town council actually rejected a proposal about a month ago, but only after an uprising from the residents.

I'm in Sarasota and it is being developed much too quickly - farmlands west of I-75/east of Rt 41 being sold for housing (am thinking of the Rt 681 connector). All of these nice, decent sized houses crammed together as you say, with zero privacy and next to no yard between each house. Granted, there are some people who do not want to deal with the taxes and cold winters up north (I'm from CT myself). And of course it's always on the coast where this building seems to be taking place.

At the height of the pandemic, my husband and I took a few road trips through the south-central part of the state which is quite beautiful, unspoiled, lots of farmland, cattle. Last week we were down in Venus (outside of Punta Gorda) and to me if felt like how Florida was about 50 + years ago. The Venus Project, Archbold Biological Station....it was like being in another world.

Real Paradise.

 

[Chelly]

Developers are strong-arming municipalities to rubber stamp new neighborhoods everywhere here right now. I'm in Palm Beach and like Broward and Miami Dade we are basically built to capacity. The developers don't care, they buy a small parcel of land and jam as many houses as they can on it. Even in the nicest towns they're jamming in multifamily homes. My own town council actually rejected a proposal about a month ago, but only after an uprising from the residents.

Good on your town council and residents!!!