A Florida high-rise condo five miles from the deadly Champlain Towers collapse was deemed safe for residents, just days after they were evacuated in a precautionary measure.
Residents returned Monday morning after being forced to leave their homes in the 156-unit Crestview Towers by midnight Friday. A Jan. 11 report turned in to the city on Friday afternoon showed the building was 'not structurally nor electrically safe for continued occupancy.'
Roughly 300 residents of the North Miami Beach building on NE 164th Street were evacuated, 150 of whom did not have a place to go, according to WPLG.
'In an abundance of caution, the city ordered the building closed immediately and the residents evacuated for their protection, while a full structural assessment is conducted and next steps are determined,' North Miami Beach City Manager Arthur H. Sorey III told CNN regarding Friday's evacuation.
'Being in that building right now is not safe, and that’s our number one concern.'
A high-rise condo five miles away from the deadly Champlain Towers collapse was deemed safe just days after it was evacuated in a 'precautionary measure'
Roughly 300 residents were forced to evacuate by midnight on Friday, 150 of which did not have a place to go
Residents returned Monday after being forced to leave their homes in the 156-unit Crestview Towers amid structural and electrical concerns
The 156-unit building was built in 1972, nine years before Champlain Towers South, which collapsed in nearby Surfside on June 24, leaving at least 27 dead and more than 100 still missing.
Since the collapse, the mayor of Miami-Dade County has suggested an audit of buildings 40 and older to make sure they are in compliance with the local recertification process.
After reviewing files, the city Building and Zoning Department sent a notification that the Crestview building was not in compliance. On Friday, the building manager submitted a January recertification report in which an engineer hired by the condo association board found the property unsafe. The city then ordered all residents to evacuate immediately.
The Towers' condo association's attorney, Mariel Tollinchi, told WPLG that the engineer's report was vague and included no
