MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - Reports of leaks and cracked concrete in a Miami Beach high-rise located south of the building in Surfside that partially collapsed have raised concerns among residents that their homes are unsafe.
Cellphone video shared on social media captured cracks, chipping paint and rain seeping through the ceiling of a parking garage at the Maison Grande Condominium along Collins Avenue, near 60th Street, about 28 blocks south from the Champlain Towers’ South building.
An unsafe structure warning was posted months ago at the Maison Grande’s lobby entrance.
Back in 2014, an engineer described the building, built in 1971, as structurally sound, and the city recertified it in 2015.
Six years later, the situation appears to have changed.
“We have a massive pool that is nine and a half feet deep, and it’s an old pool, and unfortunately, it’s reached its shelf life,” said Lilly-Ann Sanchez, Maison Grande’s newly elected condo association president.
Sanchez said the pool is leaking and causing some minor deterioration in the parking garage located below.
The pool was closed in 2019 and remains fenced off. Parking spots below are taped off as well.
“I’m not going to risk anybody parking under there, so we cordoned it all off, and we’re just sitting there waiting,” said Sanchez.
Sanchez said they have been waiting four months for a city permit to move forward, as the elements continue to wear on the building.
“Today, I still don’t have a permit from the city,” she said.
Prep work is underway as they wait, and on Thursday, 7News cameras showed a building department inspector at the building.
As many cities in South Florida order inspections of hundreds of condos that line the beach and elsewhere, Sanchez said she also hopes they clean up the red tape.
“It cannot be that it takes months and months and months and months, when they themselves have told you that you need to repair it. It’s not acceptable,” she said.
The unsafe structure notice doesn’t mean the Maison Grande is uninhabitable. It’s a standard notice that is posted when work needs to be done.
A Miami Beach official told 7News a permit was issued, but it remains unclear for what type of work.
The Maison Grande’s homeowners association will hold a meeting for residents Thursday night to assure them that the work will be done and their homes are safe.
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