Three more buildings at a Pembroke Pines condominium complex have been ordered evacuated after they were deemed unsafe, following the earlier evacuation of three other buildings at the same development.
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The City of Pembroke Pines deemed three more buildings unsafe at the Heron Pond condo complex weeks after several buildings were deemed unsafe and residents were forced to move out. |
"Minimal, unsatisfactory actions have
been taken by the unit owner to address the life, health and
safety issues expressed by the City of Pembroke Pines and
cited under Florida’s Building and Fire regulations."
Posted notices showed that the balconies in all 19 of the
buildings at the community were shut down on Jan. 19. In
July, Pembroke Pines Police posted a letter saying all 19
buildings showed "signs of structural deterioration and
potential unsafe conditions."
The property manager told NBC6 last month that they have
been trying to repair the balconies since April.
Ben Solomon, an attorney representing the buildings' condo
association, told NBC6 last month that the condos' age was a
major factor.
“It’s an unfortunate situation, this is an older condo,”
Solomon said. “The product is decades old. It was a wood
construction project so it’s much more susceptible to
termites, water damage and other casualties. The association
maintains the property but these things have caught up."
Solomon said that the engineer it hired said the buildings
are safe, and said 2021 condo collapse in Surfside that left
98 people dead led to the city’s decision to vacate the
Heron Pond buildings.
"A lot of these issues have been around for a long time but
they are at the height of everyone’s focus now, and Heron
Pond is one of the victims,” Solomon said.
Solomon predicted that more people will be in this situation
because of the new laws going into effect from Surfside. His
advice was to make repairs now in order to avoid this
situation.