2 South FL Buildings Evacuated After Damage Found: Report

MIAMI BEACH, FL — Less than two weeks after a 12-story condo tower partially collapsed in Surfside, killing at least 28 people with more than 100 still missing, two Miami Beach condo buildings were evacuated after damage was found.

Since the collapse of Champaign Towers South in Surfside June 24, Miami-Dade County and many cities in South Florida have called for an evaluation of older buildings.

The 10-story, 156-unit Crestview Towers Condominium at 2025 NE 164th Street in North Miami Beach was evacuated Friday night because of a building inspection report from earlier this year that noted structural and electrical issues at the building, the Miami Herald reported.

The report, which was written Jan. 11, said that the condo tower is “structurally no safe for the specified use for continued occupancy.” It also said that the building is “electrically no safe for the specified use for continued occupancy,” according to reports.

Crestview Towers announced a series of improvement projects planned at the building on its website just days before the condo collapse in Surfside. Work includes redoing the condo tower’s roof and flooring, replacing the generator and lighting, painting the building’s interior, and renovating the banquet room.

The condo tower said that it had previously postponed much of this work because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A three-story, 24-unit apartment building at 1619 Lenox Ave. in Miami Beach was also evacuated Saturday night after a flooring system failure was found in a vacant unit, Local 10 reported.

A spokeswoman for the city said the building was evacuated “in an abundance of caution,” and noted that there was also “excessive deflection on an exterior wall.”