Two Miami-Dade housing complexes flagged in audit of unsafe structures after condo collapse
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When Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava announced an emergency audit Saturday of aging residential buildings that have fallen behind on inspections — the county didn’t have to look far to find violators.
Two county-owned apartment buildings appeared on a list released Monday of 24 apartment or condominium buildings that are facing unsafe-structure violations for not securing their required recertifications after 40 years.
Little River Plaza and Ward Tower 1 on list
The Little River Plaza, an 86-unit public housing complex built in 1970 on the 8200 block of Miami Court outside the city, was cited in 2015 for overdue lighting improvements needed in its parking lot.
Ward Tower 1, a complex that went up in the 1970s off the 5300 block of Northwest 23rd Avenue outside Miami, was cited with a recertification violation in March — though details weren’t available on the case.
Miami-Dade’s place on the list of building owners targeted by Levine Cava’s audit captures a challenge of the county recertification process that’s supposed to make sure buildings older than 40 years remain safe. While the rules are among the strictest in the country, that doesn’t mean building owners are always able to secure the recertifications on time.
Miami-Dade can’t afford upkeep for all public housing
Michael Liu, the county’s housing director, said a lack of federal funding for public housing has the county about $10 million short each year, forcing cost cutting on complexes across Miami-Dade.
The agency “is in the position of having to make difficult choices based on severity and threats to health and safety,” he said Monday, “and a backlog of capital needs that is over $500 million.”
County records show Little River received its structural recertification in 2015, but hasn’t secured an electrical recertification. Both are required under county code once a building is 40 years old, then every 10 years after that. When the repairs are delayed long enough, Miami-Dade building inspectors cite owners and refer cases to the county’s Unsafe Structures Board.
Miami-Dade inspectors have more than 1,000 active cases before the board for overdue recertifications, said Edward Rojas, the county administrator who oversee the inspection operation. Because cities have their own certification process, Miami-Dade is only responsible for properties outside city limits.
Levine Cava announced the audit about 48 hours after the Champlain Tower South building suffered a partial collapse early Thursday morning, causing a death toll that hit 11 Monday night with an estimated 150 people still missing.
The audit was one of multiple announcements by local governments eager to reassure residents that other aging buildings remain safe. Champlain Towers South was pursuing its 40-year recertification from Surfside at the time of the collapse, with repair work underway on the roof.
The Levine Cava audit included parameters designed to limit the buildings under review. She ordered an audit for residential buildings at least five stories tall that are due for 40-year recertifications but haven’t received them.
On Monday, Rojas said county inspectors began visiting 24 buildings that mesh with the mayor’s criteria, though they’re also expanding the inspections to buildings with four stories. He said the plan is to look for visible structural issues on a building’s exterior.
“We’re out there doing inspections on what kind of condition these buildings are in,” he said. “If there’s something obvious that catches their attention, we’ll notify the property and they’ll have to get an engineer to conduct a proper inspection.”
24 buildings on Levine Cava’s audit list following Surfside collapse
Other properties on the list of 24 “enforcement recertification” cases released by the county’s Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources include Jade Winds, on the 1700 block of Northeast 191st Street; Buckley Towers on the 1300 block of Miami Gardens Drive; and Lake Park, on the 900 block of Northeast 199th Street.
Liu said the Little River complex was deemed “structurally safe” during the 2015 recertification, and that the remaining electrical issues are “not related to structural or habitability issues, such as parking lot lighting.” Those issues “are still in the process of being addressed.”
For the Ward Tower 1 complex, Liu said a 40-year recertification was completed earlier this year and “found the building to be structurally safe.”
