Residents return to formerly-deemed unsafe 164-unit condo on Miami Beach
MIAMI BEACH - Port Royale rolled out the welcome mat Monday, opening its front doors once more to residents of the 164-unit condo building on Collins Avenue.
It was late October when residents had to pack abruptly after the city deemed the building unsafe because of the cracking and sagging of two beams on the fourth floor.
After the condo brought in a company to shore up the faulty beams, an engineering firm hired by the building wrote a letter to the city confirming the beams had been shored up but acknowledged they "had not assessed, investigated or analyzed other portions of the property."
The city had its own engineers inspect the building over the weekend, "It's good for older people who can't afford to stay in a hotel," condo owner Marash Markaj said about the news the building was allowing residents to return.
Markaj used to live in Port Royale with his family. He's a contractor and designer who has been critical of the building's upkeep. He has documented issues with the foundation and concerns about standing water and cracks in the concrete.
He says, "the building is still not safe" and refuses to return right now.
The building is under two miles from the Champlain Towers Wouth condo in Surfside that collapsed nearly 17 months ago killing 98 people.
Markaj brought his concerns to the engineer who was hired by Surfside to find out what brought the building down.
"He said to me, if this were Surfside the building would never open up," said Markaj.
Markaj's concerns aren't shared by the condo association, which has assured residents the building is safe. The city agrees the building is safe.
But Markaj says he won't go back until there are further tests done on the building.
"We need more professionals than just the city to find out what's going on," he said.