Workers on Thursday quietly brought down a broken construction crane in Fort Lauderdale, one of three that Hurricane Irma toppled in South Florida, as ferocious winds and rain lashed the state.
The video below, taken by Peter Zalewski, principal of CraneSpotters.com, shows workers removing the broken crane at the Related Group’s condominium development at Auberge Beach Residences & Spa, at the former site of Ireland’s Inn. It did not cause injuries or any major damage to the building.
The Fort Lauderdale project, slated to be completed next year, features 171 condo units. Prices for the seven penthouses started at $6.85 million.
Hurricane Irma also toppled a crane at Property Markets Group’s 300 Biscayne Avenue in Miami. Another crane collapsed at Related’s GranParaiso condo tower at 480 Northeast 31st Street. The tower is part of a 10-acre megadevelopment in Edgewater.
Dozens of cranes tower over South Florida, and officials said there was not enough time to move them before Irma struck. Some have counterbalances of 30,000 pounds, and would take two weeks to move. With that option off the table, some of the horizontal arms on cranes were left loose to spin in the wind. Officials said the cranes were designed to withstand winds of up to 145 miles per hour. — Ina Cordle