MIAMI, Fla. – The work to shore up support beams will take about a year at the River Run South six-story condominium complex, which sits on the Miami River. Unit owners have been hit with a nearly $1 million special assessment.
“Everybody knew there was something wrong and we fixed it right away,” said Bruce Aquila, a resident of the condominium.
And what is wrong is still evident today in the building’s parking garage. Chunks of concrete are missing from the ceiling and the crucial support beams to steady the roughly 150 unit complex shows strong signs of deterioration.
Even the rebar had starting coming out, which is unusual because the building was only built in 2006.
“This particular condo is young, so to speak. The norm really is to wait for the 40-year re-certification to get all the inspections done and get engineers involved, but we took immediate action,” said Martha Jiron, Allied Property Group.
“It was scary at first, but now I’m getting used to it and knowing it’s being fixed properly,” said Aquila.
The repairs were on track before the tragic collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, but the incident certainly highlights the urgency here.
“It’s never too late. Ya gotta take action before things happen. There’s a lot of things that can be prevented,” Francisco Sotelo, the condo association’s president, said.
Aquila said 40 years is not the magic number. “It can happen to my building in 15 years,” he said.
“Don’t do the lobby first, do the construction first,” Sotelo advised.
The big question is what is causing the quick deterioration at that building. Is it faulty construction or is that property more susceptible because it is considered waterfront property. Currently, there has been no definitive answers and that they are still waiting to figure out the exact cause.