Before building collapse, $9M+ in repairs needed

The Associated Press ^ | June 28, 2021 | By CURT ANDERSON and BERNARD CONDON

[EVO X]

Had a 10+ year run as snowbird at an oceanfront condo in the Tampa area. The condo building was 6 floors with 5 apartments to a floor. The snowbird visits came to a screeching halt when monthly fees jumped from $5K to $10K. It was an older building, built sometime in the 80’s. The walls and floors are a little thin. You could hear little kids running around above and it sometimes got a bit loud on the weekends. Reflecting back on the building, it seemed to be well maintained and there nothing that I recall that sticks out as being dangerous.

[Arlis]

I doubt the recommended repairs dealt with the major structural issues that caused the collapse. I’m electrical, not structural engineer, but have son who is structural and I have years dealing with structural issues.

If the structural defects that caused this collapse had been discovered, and not dealt with, the building would have been condemned.

Other engineers here - do you not agree?

[EVO X]

It is probably going to take several years to figure out what happened. There hasn’t been any indications of a sinkhole being the cause. Reports seem to blame a pool/parking deck failure for starting the collapse.

[existentially_kuffer]

Once we get through the smoke & mirrors, there should be a clearer signal.

[EVO X]

Reports seem to indicate there was a lot of deferred maintenance. Did the 2008 GFC meltdown have an impact on property repairs?

[Sirius Lee]

Yep, Condo buyers beware.

Wonder if this will result in panic selling. Or will they turn into one of those properties where the price of the condo is only 50K but the Condo Association fees are $1500 - $2000 a month?

[mewzilla]

The deterioration didn’t happen overnight.

Likely people have been looking away for years.

Who, for whom, and why?

[existentially_kuffer]

Tks, appreciated! Before getting into Product Development it years in managing Quality Assurance. It was a challenge selling upper management that "reactive" responses are in fact costly than preventative practices. The next logical bang-for-the-buck was predictive maintenance. We hired a full time statistician to target variation not just in manufacturing but C to C (concept to customer) Looking back we literally found diamonds in the rough for the picking. But, it's always upstream for the why's "you can't spend enough time up front" and it's about DESIGN

[Sirius Lee]

Going to be real awkward if the Condo Association had a vote (by the condo owners) who turned the repairs down.

[chuck allen]

See pic 58..

https://www.washingtonpost.com/photography/interactive/2021/photos-building-collapse-miami-dade/