North Miami Seashore Apartment Constructing closed, evacuated after constructing was deemed unsafe – NBC 6 South Florida

A North Miami Beach condo building has closed and residents are being evacuated Friday after an audit and site inspection report described unsafe structural and electrical conditions.

The City of North Miami Beach ordered the immediate closure of the 156-unit Crestview Towers Condominium at 2025 NE 164th St. and the evacuation of its 300+ residents.

Officials did not immediately reveal details of the structural issues that triggered the evacuation, but the building had reported millions of dollars in damage from Hurricane Irma in 2017.

“With great caution, the city has ordered that the building be closed immediately and residents evacuated for protection while a full structural assessment is carried out and the next steps determined,” said Arthur H. Sorey III, City Manager, North Miami Beach , in a message posting. “Nothing is more important than the safety and lives of our residents and we will not rest until we have made sure this building is 100% safe.”

The city has set up a hotline for residents with more information at 786-589-4056. The hotline is open daily from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. until further notice.

It is the first building to be evacuated since city officials in South Florida and across the state scrutinize older skyscrapers after the Surfside collapse to ensure significant structural issues are not being ignored.

Following the tragic collapse, Miami-Dade County’s Mayoress Daniella Levine Cava ordered an inspection of buildings 40 years old and older.

Days after the collapse, Sorey requested an audit and review of all high-rise condominiums over five floors to see if they were in line with the county and city’s 40-year recertification process and certified as habitable.

Kim Wynne of NBC 6 is in North Miami Beach, where officials say the building had structural and electrical issues that made it unsafe.

After the department’s files showed that Crestview was non-compliant, an inspector went to the building on Friday to inquire.

On the same day, the Crestview Towers building manager brought a recertification report dated Jan. 11, 2021 to the North Miami Beach Buildings division, where the association’s engineer deemed the property unsafe.

NBC 6 reached out to the Condominium Association for comment but received no response.

Evacuating residents dragging packed items into cars in front of the Crestview suitcase, built in 1972, on Friday evening.

Clothing and electronics were the only things Harold Dauphin could quickly get out of his home before he had to be evacuated.

“They give each two hours to evacuate the building,” said Dauphin, who lives with his seven-year-old son on the second floor of Crestview Towers.

Local residents like Silvio Martinez are angry and confused.

“I don’t know what’s going on,” said Martinez. “The city is not sending me any paper. Nothing. I do not know what’s up.”

The city of North Miami Beach is working with the American Red Cross to find temporary housing for displaced residents who have no other shelter.

The North Miami Beach City Commission will hold a special commission meeting on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. to discuss the evacuation. It will be held at the Julius Littman Performing Arts Theater at 17011 NE 19th Avenue.