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Street. PETERSBURG, Florida (AP) – Nearly three years before an oceanfront building collapsed near Miami, an engineering firm estimated that major repairs to the building would cost more than $9 million, according to newly released emails.
The email from Morabito Consultants was among a series of documents released by the city of Surfside as rescue efforts continued at the site of the collapsed building, where more than 150 people remain missing. At least five people were killed in the collapse.
The release of the 2018 cost estimate followed the previous publication of another document from the company showing the building’s ground-floor pool deck resting on a concrete slab that had “significant structural damage” and needed an overhaul. This report also revealed “abundant cracking” of the columns, beams and concrete walls of the parking garage.
The report did not warn of an imminent risk of damage, and it is not clear if any of the damage observed was responsible for the collapse of the South Champlain Towers.
The cost estimate showed that repairs throughout the building would cost more than $9.1 million, with work in the garage, entrance and pool alone costing more than $3.8 million. The work had not been completed by the time the building collapsed.
The previous report said the waterproofing under the pool deck had failed and was incorrectly laid flat rather than sloping, preventing water from draining.
“Failure of waterproofing caused significant structural damage to the concrete structural slab below these areas. Failure to replace waterproofing in the near future would greatly expand the extent of concrete deterioration,” the report said.
The company recommended replacing the damaged panels in what could be a major repair.
Some of the damage to the concrete in the parking garage was minor, while other columns had damaged rebar. He also noted that many of the building’s previous attempts to repair columns and other damage with epoxy were marred by poor workmanship and failed.
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Below the pool deck “where the slab was injected with epoxy, there were new cracks radiating from the cracks that were originally repaired,” the report said.
These were all issues that should have been dealt with quickly, said Greg Schlesinger, an attorney who specializes in building defects and a former building project engineer.
“The building is talking to us. It tells us we have a serious problem,” Schlesinger said in a phone interview on Saturday about the new documents. “They (the building managers) kicked the can down the road. Maintenance was improper. These were all red flags that had to be addressed. They weren’t.”
Morabito Consulting confirmed in a statement on Saturday that its report “detailed the large cracks and fractures in the concrete, which required repairs to ensure the safety of residents and the public.”
The company said it was hired back in June 2020 by Champlain Towers South to begin a 40-year rehabilitation process that will detail the work to be done.
“At the time of the building’s collapse, repairs to the roofs were underway, but the restoration of the concrete had not yet begun,” the statement said.
The scale of damage described in the engineering report was remarkable, said Abi Aguirre, an engineering researcher at Drexel University. In addition to potential problems under the pool, he said several areas above the entrance driveway that were showing signs of deterioration were worrisome and had to be fixed immediately.
“Have the supporting elements deteriorated to the point of failure of a critical structural element or its connections resulting in a gradual breakdown?” He wrote in an email to The Associated Press after reviewing the report. “Were there other areas of the structure that had deteriorated so badly that no one had noticed?”
The building was in the midst of a 40-year rehabilitation process, which required detailed structural and electrical inspections. In an interview Friday, Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said he wasn’t sure if the inspection was complete, but said it might contain vital evidence.
“It should have been something very obvious,” Burkett said. “Buildings in America don’t just fall like that. There is a reason. We need to find out what that reason is.”
The collapse of the 12-storey tower Thursday morning has raised questions about whether other similar buildings are in danger.
“This is a wake-up call for people at the beach,” Schlesinger said. “The scary part is the other buildings. Do you think this is unique? No.”
Surfside Town Clerk writer Sandra McCready said in an email that details of the building’s 40-year rehabilitation check will be made public once it is complete.
The collapse has already led to lawsuits, including a lawsuit filed hours after the collapse by attorney Brad Sohn against the Homeowners Association seeking damages for negligence and other causes for all residents of the tower.
The lawsuit asserts that the association “could have prevented the collapse of the Champlain South Towers by exercising normal care, safety measures and oversight.”
The association’s attorney, Ken Director, did not respond to an email seeking comment.
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Condon reported from New York. Associated Press writer Frida Frisaro in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, contributed to this story.
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