North Miami Beach condo ordered to close, evacuate after inspection said structurally unsafe

The city of North Miami Beach has ordered that Crestview Towers Condominium be immediately closed and evacuated Friday evening after a building inspection report found it to have unsafe structural and electrical conditions, city officials announced Friday night.

The city said the building’s residents are being evacuated in an “abundance of caution.”

The 156-unit building is the first to be closed due to unsafe structures after the partial collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside on June 24. As rescue efforts continue, 20 have been found dead and 128 are unaccounted in that incident.

The City of North Miami Beach immediately launched a review of all condo high-rise buildings after the Surfside collapse. Crestview Towers, at 2025 NE 164th St., was one of them, the city said.

On Friday, the Crestview Towers condo association submitted a recertification report from January in which an engineer concluded that the building was structurally and electrically unsafe.

The building was constructed in 1972 and is subject to the 40-Year recertification process.

“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 said in a statement.

The North Miami Beach Police Department is helping the condo association with the evacuation. The city is also working with the American Red Cross to find temporary shelter for displaced residents.

“Nothing is more important than the safety and lives of our residents, and we will not rest until we ensure this building is 100% safe,” Sorey said in the statement.

By Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald