HALLANDALE BEACH — The
residents of a 370-unit Hallandale Beach condominium
narrowly avoided being forced out of their homes this
weekend after city officials, citing the building’s unsafe
condition, ordered the condo’s management to get the
problems fixed within 48 hours or face a mandatory
evacuation order.
The evacuation order, which would’ve forced all of the
building’s residents to find somewhere else to stay, was
averted after the required repairs were finished by the
deadline of 1 p.m. Sunday, officials said.
The city said Sunday that “mandatory evacuation is no longer
necessary” at the Olympus Towers Condominium and Marina but
that it must continue to make repairs.
“The City did not take this action take lightly,” city
manager Jeremy Earle said in a statement. “However, the
safety of the general public is our utmost responsibility,
and we will take whatever action is necessary to ensure that
safety.”
A notice had been posted at 1 p.m. Friday at the building,
at 600 Three Islands Boulevard, detailing safety issues such
as exposed rebar, cracked stucco walls, and corroded steel
beams and pipe support for the cooling tower that needed to
be repaired and shored up within 48 hours.
Cathie Schanz, the head of Hallandale Beach’s parks and
recreation department, said in an email on Saturday that the
city received pictures from the condo association of the
repairs and that the engineer completed the inspection and
submitted a certification report.
“The emergency shoring work in the parking garage was
completed while the building [was] occupied. Residents can
expect the shoring to remain in place until repairs are
performed from topside of second level slab. The remaining
repair work can be completed while the building is
occupied.”
Hallandale Beach officials said they received and reviewed
an engineer’s report for the Olympus Towers Building B that
was dated June 23, 2021, one day before the condo collapse
in Surfside. They said they’ve had “numerous concerns from
the building’s residents regarding the report and condition
of the building.”
Officials said the biggest concerns are exposed rebar in the
parking garage and corroded steel beams and pipe support for
the cooling tower.
Other concerns include cracked stucco walls throughout the
building, including the balconies, and exposed electrical
wiring.
“While all of the issues in the report are extremely
important to address,” interim building official Emmanuel
Agbenohevi said in a statement, “a failure of the supports
for the cooling tower and parking garage are our biggest
concern.”
The residents will be able to stay in the building as the
rest of the repairs are done, Schanz told the South Florida
Sun Sentinel.