(HorizonPost.com) – An eight-story condo located at 5050 NW Seventh St. in the Flagami neighborhood of Miami, Florida — just south of the Miami International Airport — was issued an evacuation order on Monday, August 9. City officials ordered the residents to vacate the premises due to multiple safety issues and a failure to obtain 40-year recertification.
DEVELOPING: Hundreds of Miami residents forced from their 8-story condo building on Monday night after city officials determined the structure was unsafe. https://t.co/q3uqF3yjUm
— NBC News (@NBCNews) August 10, 2021
The issues were brought to the attention of the condo association on July 7 because “the building occupants were not safe,” according to City Building Director Asael Marrero. After an inspection of the entire property on the 27th, the city informed the property manager they needed a plan for immediate “emergency shoring” of support columns on the first floor of the building.
According to The Miami Herald, Officials involved claim that they neither received those plans nor issued any building permits for the property. An engineer reportedly sent a letter on August 5 saying the building was “safe for occupancy” while emergency work was being performed. The next day, a building inspector saw unpermitted repairs taking place, prompting officials to issue a stop-work order.
After a meeting on Monday between the Building Department, the unnamed engineer, and the Condo Association, the city ordered the building evacuation because they “found the columns to be structurally insufficient.” Residents were given just a few hours to leave and find temporary housing solutions, albeit with the assistance of the city — however much that may or may not be worth.
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