Miami condo residents allowed to return after being displaced for a year
MIAMI - It's move-in day for some residents who were forced out of their Miami condo after it was deemed unsafe.
Over the weekend, engineers gave the green light to return, saying parts of the building at 5050 NW 7 Street were cleared for occupancy.
Tuesday morning, residents of 84 of the building's 137 units were allowed to move back into the building after being displaced for more than a year.
Mayra Gutierrez and her husband finally unlocked the door to their unit after over a year and a half. While the apartment was the same way they left it, she said there was a different feeling being back inside.
"I can't believe it, you know, it's like I'm still in shock that we were able to come because it was a lost cause for a long time," she said.
During repair and strengthening work on the columns underneath the building, city officials found other safety issues that needed to be addressed. That included expired fire equipment, like the extinguishers and hoses, a fire pump that was apparently not maintained for about 15 years, and inadequate lighting in the parking lot. Also, the air conditioning area on the roof was deemed unsafe.
"None of that was even being attended to for many years. There were fire extinguishers that expired in 2013. It was not a living condition for a building with so many people. That had to be corrected," said property manager Natalia Bulness.
The issues didn't go unnoticed.
"There was a lot of deterioration going on over the years," said Gutierrez.
When the new management got hired to help, they noticed just that.
"The building was deteriorating, really bad. It was a challenge. I'm actually proud that I was able to tackle something like this. It was a challenge and in the end, it's worth it. Many things have been cleared, many things have been taken care of," said Bulness.
She said the next step is to finish the needed fixes so the remaining tenants can return. Those fixes include electrical and mechanical issues.
Once those are addressed the city will do the final inspection of those units and issue the keys. Bulness said she hopes that happens within the next week or so.
