Since the collapse of the Champlain
Tower South in Surfside in June 2021, the CBS12 News I Team
has been reporting on the successes and failures of efforts
calling for new condo safety regulations at the local and
state levels.
Here, we explore where things stand in Boca Raton, the first
city to take action after the tragedy. The first batch of 14
condominium inspection reports are in and under review.
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750 Ocean was hoping for an extension to complete concrete renovations and balcony makeovers, the city said no. |
"Now with all these regulations that are
being implemented, it definitely puts an increase- even
insurance went up 30 percent- it’s a huge increase, buts its
condo life and its just something we have to go through,"
said Devin Wardell, Property Manager at 750 Ocean, formerly
known as Sabal Ridge Apartments, 1 of the 14 properties
inspected in the first wave.
Devin Wardell doesn’t just work at 750 Ocean - he lives
there. A former security guard for the building, he was
working towards a career in law enforcement, then, right
before he left to become a cop, the board asked if he’d stay
on and run the place.
"So the building was built in1968. There's 32 units here,
it's very small intimate building. We have 16 floors,"
Wardell said.
And Wardell tells the I-Team he requested an extension on
the inspection deadline for the building, not because he was
worried about structural problems, but because 750 Ocean had
concrete restoration and balcony make-overs already
scheduled. Wouldn’t it make sense to get a full inspection
after that work was done, he tried to explain.
The city said no.
Regardless, the 54 year old building did just fine on the
structural inspection.
"So the structural engineer, Biller Reinhart, they love the
building, they said this building is great, we have no
problem signing off on this building," Wardell said.
None of the other 13 buildings responded to our requests to
discuss the inspections.
Later this month, we’ll check with Boca Raton officials to
see if anything concerning has been found.
And as far as inspection deadlines go, an expert we talked
with said when the safety of residents is at stake, no one
should count on getting extra time.
I think you have to act right now and be prepared as if
these were concrete deadlines and get this underway.
Becker Attorney Donna Dimaggio-Berger used to work as a
lobbyist in Tallahassee. She says one thing the new law did
not seem to consider was the work-load for qualified
structural engineers who need to do these critical
inspections and who also need to monitor repairs if they
identify safety concerns.
"As we sit here today, the pool of people available to
undertake these inspections is pretty narrow, and then if
there’s problems found, the pool gets even narrower,"
Dimaggio-Berger said.
Another thing that worries her is a bill that’s being
drafted for possible consideration by the legislature next
month. It would reduce the amount of time condo owners have
to hold contractors liable for construction defects from 10
years to 7, which the attorney says could leave residents
holding the bag.
"We now have thousands of Florida condo associations, who
will be spending millions of dollars on repair work, and at
the same time, we’re going to make it harder for them to go
after a contractor for shoddy work?! It seems like the left
hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing," Dimaggio-Berger
said.
Rep. John Synder (R) of Stuart is introducing that bill and
the I Team has asked him for an interview to address those
concerns.