As the South Florida community continues to grapple with the collapse of a Surfside condo building, hundreds of residents in Miami were told to leave their homes after a building was deemed unsafe.
A condominium building located on 5050 NW 7th Street was evacuated Monday (August 9) after an inspector placed it on the unsafe structure list, according to NBC Miami. Residents from 137 units were forced to leave their homes and only had hours to do so, according to a city official.
"We have a lot of elderly owners here that have no place to go," resident Dmidry Asanov told reporters. "Some have COVID, some can’t walk."
Miami's building director, Asael “Ace” Marrero, said the building was in violation and need serious repairs, including several columns. On top of that, the building association allegedly began repairs without getting permits from the city first. As a result, the work wasn't satisfactory, according to Marrero.
"We obviously don't feel that it's safe," the official told NBC Miami. "Structural integrity has been degraded by the contractor proceeding with the repairs that they were not authorized to do."
City officials said they opened an unsafe structure violation for the building in May, but the property was placed under new management at the end of June, reporters learned.
A notice was posted in the building last month about the recertification process being underway, but that didn't stop officials from opening a noncompliance case against it.
As for the residents of the condo building, officials say some organizations are helping displaced residents with temporary lodging.
This news comes months after 98 people were killed during a partial collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside. Numerous investigations and lawsuits are underway while the community continues to seek answers and closure in the tragedy.
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