Two of Moishe Mana’s downtown Miami buildings were declared unsafe and ordered evacuated, The Real Deal has learned.
The commercial buildings join a growing list of properties that have been deemed unsafe in the wake of the deadly Surfside condo collapse. City officials throughout South Florida have been inspecting older buildings, with a focus on residential properties.
The buildings, at 48 and 76 East Flagler Street, total more than 161,000 square feet of commercial space on 1.1 acres. The seven-story Flagler Station building at 48 East Flagler Street was built in 1985 and 1986.
The two-story building at 76 East Flagler Street was built in 1928. It is across the street from Churchills Barbershop and one block west of the Reserve Hotel Eurostars Langford Hotel.
Mana Properties said that it commissioned structural engineering reports ahead of planned renovations of the two properties. The reports determined the buildings “have significant structural issues and should not be occupied,” according to a statement provided to TRD. “Additionally, due to the risks related to Flagler Station, occupancy of 76 E. Flagler is unsafe.”
The building at 48 East Flagler is now vacant. Tenants at 76 East Flagler are in the process of vacating, according to a spokesperson for Mana. Tenants include mom-and-pop stores, such as Dale Zine and a sushi delivery restaurant. They were notified to evacuate in a letter dated Sept. 9, obtained by TRD.
Mana Properties said it notified the city of Miami and Miami-Dade County of the closures. The city of Miami did not respond to a public records request filed on Monday morning.
Mana paid $35 million for the buildings in early 2015. Over the years, the investor and developer has spent more than $375 million assembling properties in downtown Miami, but his plan to redevelop them stalled before beginning construction on some buildings earlier this year.
Mana started demolition at the 777 International Mall building at 145 East Flagler Street, and began renovation work at his 13-story office building at 155 South Miami Avenue, which Mana will name the Nikola Tesla Innovation Hub.
A number of Mana’s other properties are also older and require substantial work. His goal is to create a thriving startup and tech hub like in his hometown of Tel Aviv.
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An earlier version of this story included a photo of the wrong buildings.