The balconies of a 53-year-old North Miami condominium are unsafe and off limits to residents until significant repairs can be made.
The order by the city of North Miami’s building department followed a review of 347 properties that were either past due or approaching their 40-year recertification.
According to that review, only three properties in the city had structural problems requiring immediate attention, Theresa Therilus, North Miami’s city manager wrote in a July 19 memo obtained by The Real Deal.
Of those three buildings, just one is occupied: Coronado Towers at 12950 Northeast 16th Avenue. The five-story, 60-unit condo was built in 1969.
An image of the Coronado Tower balcony from a Zillow listing
A North Miami spokesperson said “numerous” Coronado balconies have cracked concrete and exposed steel so they have been deemed unsafe. The rest of the building was determined to be structurally sound. “Nobody has been asked to move out,” she said. However, no one will be allowed on the balconies until repairs are made.
It is unclear when the repairs will be completed, how much they will cost or how much the unit owners may have to pay in assessments.
Another North Miami building deemed in immediate need of repairs is the empty Inspiration Point condominium at 12955 Northeast 6th Avenue. The city memo listed it as “unsafe/due to fire/unoccupied.”
The name and address of the third building flagged for structural defects was not listed, but is unoccupied according to the city memo.
Local governments throughout Miami-Dade County have been reinspecting buildings 40 years old or older in the wake of the tragic Champlain Towers South collapse in Surfside.
In some cases, those inspections have led to evacuation orders. Just before July 4, the city of North Miami Beach ordered 300-people to move out of Crestview Towers.
In Miami Beach, at least three residential buildings have been ordered to evacuate including the 1960s-era La Costa building at 5333 Collins Avenue. The vast majority of the building’s units were recently purchased in a bulk condo deal by developer Camilo Miguel, Jr. for more than $100 million. Miguel intends to replace the 15-story La Costa building with a new 19-story, 100-unit luxury tower.