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Tag: Martinique

Castles in the Sand

Just when you think you’ve seen it all

Written by Louise Bolger on . Posted in Business, Castles in the Sand.

At the end of June, every waterfront condo owner in the state of Florida had what may have been the shock of their real estate lives. The collapse of the oceanfront Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida changed our waterfront living comfort zone from a little risky to outright dangerous. The question is, is this a temporary spike in the risk factor radar, or is Florida in for a sea – so to speak – change?

According to realtor.com, many property owners, at least in southeast Florida along the barrier islands, are expected to put their condos on the market. In the near term, this is going to have a big impact on the luxury real estate market. Frightened buyers will be more hesitant even at discounted prices to go forward with a purchase, particularly in older buildings, but newer buildings will feel the fallout as well.

Since it will take at least a year to determine the reason for the building collapse, it will take at least that long as well for the southeast Florida beachfront real estate market to stabilize.

For those properties already under contract, buyers will be looking to modify the contract insisting on the results of additional inspections prior to concluding the transaction. Going forward, we can expect engineer and building inspections of properties on the beach to expand with specialists in this field being hired in addition to regular home inspectors.

Overall, condo fees are sure to go up. Condo boards will be more inclined to hire experts to review work on the building structure and have them sign off on major improvement projects. Some of these extra expenses may not have been budgeted for, leaving special assessments as the only option. I’ve talked a lot in this space about choosing the correct condo board and if this incident doesn’t reinforce that, I don’t know what will. Gone are the days where condo boards make structural decisions without a professional study, or at least those days should be gone.

Anna Maria Island thankfully only has one tallish condo complex. The Martinique is a mid-rise complex with two buildings built in the 1970s with each building having seven stories, built directly on the sand with magnificent Gulf views. After these were constructed, the zoning for all three cities on the Island changed so that no more high buildings were allowed. We can consider ourselves lucky that town commissioners at the time made this decision, avoiding high-rise condos lined up on the beach like so many other barrier island towns in Florida.

So, what’s next? To start with, a task force has already been created to investigate Florida’s laws surrounding condominiums and make recommendations for legal reforms to the governor’s office and state Legislature. Their goal is to determine whether regulatory changes could minimize the likelihood of another tragedy like the Surfside building collapse. Gov. Ron DeSantis has not fully signed on to the task force and is of the opinion that Champlain Towers South has been shown to have had structural problems from the beginning. Nevertheless, he left the door open as to whether he would support the outcome of the task force’s findings.

Is this the tip of the iceberg, or the one-off event that we hope it is? Is it a teaching moment and a warning, or is it a knee-jerk reaction? Either way, never underestimate the lure of the ocean. Buyers will be nervous, but this too will pass, leaving in its place the possibility of better building codes and regulations for older buildings and new ones going forward.

Island building owners warned to investigate structural issues

Island building owners warned to investigate structural issues

Written by Cindy Lane on . Posted in Anna Maria Island, Community News, Featured.

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Could a tragedy such as last month’s collapse of the high-rise condominium in Surfside happen here?

Some say it could – particularly after a balcony fell off a residence in Holmes Beach last week at 4106 Sixth Ave. (see related story).

In response to the June 24 collapse of the 12-story Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Longboat Key officials sent an open letter to property managers and condominium board members last week advising them to consider inspecting their foundations and structures.

And the property manager for the only high-rises on Anna Maria Island – the two seven-story Martinique condo buildings in Holmes Beach – has advised its board members to do an engineering study.

Longboat Key does not have AMI’s three-story height restriction – enacted after Martinique was built in the 70s – and subsequently has high-rise buildings lining the Gulf side of the key, but buildings of any height and location constructed in a salt-laden beach environment may be affected by corroding rebar and cracking concrete, two of the problems in the Champlain Towers.

“It’s not just mid- and high-rise,” Longboat Key’s Planning, Zoning and Building Department Director Allen Parsons said. “Any building that’s counting on rebar and structural cement to hold it up it needs to be maintained.”

It’s also not just an issue for Gulf of Mexico-facing properties, he said, but for any property in the beach environment of Longboat Key, Anna Maria Island or any Florida barrier island.

Regular maintenance – and continual funding of scheduled maintenance – is key to preventing a tragedy, he said.

Florida’s statewide building code does not require maintenance inspections after a building meets the initial code requirements upon construction, nor do Manatee County ordinances or ordinances in Longboat Key, Anna Maria, Bradenton Beach or Holmes Beach.

Miami-Dade and Broward counties have such a requirement for buildings more than 40 years old, said Chris Brown, president of Bradenton-based C&S Community Management, which manages properties in Manatee and Sarasota counties, including Martinique North and South.

A Florida law that required that condos over three stories do an engineering study every five years was rescinded due to complaints about high costs, he said.

“With what happened in Miami, that looks like it was a very good law,” he said, adding that several legislators are revisiting it. “I personally expect there will be a new law after what happened.”

Brown recommended to Martinique board members on Friday that they do an engineering study of the two seven-story buildings, he said, adding that inspections of foundations can reveal many issues, including hidden water line leaks or irrigation leaks under a building.

Forty to 50 years ago, condos were a new concept, but now that some are half a century old, owners must be vigilant, he said.

“If you don’t stay on it, anything near saltwater can have rebar expansion; it chemically reacts with salt and cracks the foundation,” Brown said. “A lot of communities put it off. It costs money. People don’t want special assessments. That’s the hardest thing, people don’t want to pay the money.”

Even a single-story building can have rebar issues, he said.

“If you happen to be in the wrong place at that moment, it could even happen in a single story. A ceiling collapse could kill you.”

If residents see a crack, they should report it immediately.

“Follow up on it; find out what the reason is,” he said. “Address it, even if it’s going to cost money. People always need to be conscious of their environment and if you have a gut feeling, check it out.”

Condo boards and building managers should address any structural issues with structural engineers, he said.

The Surfside accident has so far resulted in the death of 24 people; 121 more remained missing as of Monday.

Open letter from the Town of Longboat Key to owners of high-rise condominiums and older (pre-1980) multi-family structures

It is critically important to have structural engineering inspections, and to act on any structural deficiencies, or damage in a time-sensitive manner. Town staff can assist with identifying resources, and engineering professionals, to conduct those inspections, or advise on follow-up measures needed to ensure the safety of our residents.

Along with the rest of the country, the Town staff are sending well-wishes to those in Surfside, FL affected by the recent building collapse. And while there aren’t answers yet as to the causes of the building’s collapse, the terrible circumstances can serve to provide a constructive prompting to encourage the assessment of the structural integrity of older, multi-story buildings here in the Town to ensure the safety of residents and visitors.

The Town would like to encourage owners and property managers to consult with structural engineers to have a proper inspection completed, especially if the building is older and has not been recently evaluated. This kind of consultation is not currently a requirement, like it is in Dade and Broward counties and their jurisdictions, but it is recommended and does have a lot of merit for coastal environments.

Buildings on or near the ocean are especially vulnerable because they are constantly exposed to the increased effects of saltwater oxidation and corrosion, as well as minor concrete and masonry cracks. Stucco left exposed to the elements can cause rebar to expand up to seven times its original size, exerting a force of 10,000 pounds per square-inch (PSI). This condition—commonly referred to as spalling—can necessitate extremely expensive concrete restoration. Hundreds of thousands of dollars can be saved in building repair costs alone by following a regular maintenance schedule, applying early detection methods, and practicing aggressive prevention techniques.

Related coverage

 

Balcony collapses in Holmes Beach