Clearwater condo residents could be displaced for days after evacuations ordered

Residents still out of condo over safety concerns

Genevieve Curtis reports.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - It could be days before residents of a Clearwater Beach condo are allowed back home, according to an email management sent to residents around noon on Wednesday.

The backstory:

It comes after first responders urgently evacuated 60 residents from the 12-story South Beach III condo building on Tuesday. According to a spokesperson for the City of Clearwater, while permitted work was being done in the garage, a worker noticed one of the concrete support columns had large cracks and voids within it, causing concern for the structural integrity of the building.

Permits for work on the property located at 1460 Gulf Boulevard show crews were replacing part of the garage floor parking slab. According to the email sent to residents on Wednesday, the engineering company Karins Engineering is working with the City of Clearwater and the construction contractor Suncoast Restoration and Waterproofing to stabilize the building.

"They use steel struts and steel beams to kind of make sure that the column wasn't going to come down anymore and that the floor and roof was under control and supported," Division Chief of Emergency Management Jevon Graham for the City of Clearwater said about the process.

In a letter from the building's management, residents were told that they should plan to be out of their homes for the next 72-96 hours.

What's next:

A spokesperson for Karins Engineering said on Wednesday they’re also working hard to evaluate the building and decide on an appropriate repair plan. She wasn’t able to say how long that will take.

Follow FOX 13 on YouTube

A city spokesperson said additional work is needed to complete "more substantial repairs." The city is relying on the property’s professional structural engineers to guide the response and repair. Clearwater’s building officials will not allow people back inside, though, until they review a report from a structural engineer, saying the structure is stable and safe.

Dig deeper:

The building’s milestone inspection from last year, which was just given to the city on Wednesday, said Karins Engineering did not find anything that would compromise the safety of the building for its intended use and occupancy. The city’s spokesperson said the report was provided to the condo’s Community Association in August and September 2024, but the city didn’t have record of receiving the required building milestone inspection reports by the Dec. 31, 2024 deadline until Wednesday.

A state law put into place after the Surfside condo collapse in 2021 said aging condo buildings have to have structural inspections every 10 years. The report said the condo in Clearwater was built in 1978.

What they're saying:

First responders said Surfside is always top of mind.

READ: Clearwater Ferry passengers refute statements from Jeffry Knight's attorney in aftermath of crash

"Any time you have a compromised structure, a support beam of this magnitude, you have to think about a possible collapse. So, our county support team, our different fire departments, our Pinellas County Tech team, our city tech team, fire departments from all across the county, the jurisdiction, all support it, gave staff to kind of help make sure … and you look at one, do you have support the structure, or two, are you going to deal with a search and rescue and demolition," Graham said.

A long-time owner told FOX 13 he feels safety protocols during a recent concrete restoration project were overlooked. He said he voiced those concerns to management in February 2024, but feels he wasn’t heard.

The other side:

FOX 13 reached out to the Community Association Property Manager and hadn’t heard back at the time this article was published. The Red Cross is helping residents with a place to stay.

The Source: The information in this story was gathered by FOX 13's Kailey Tracy. It also includes previous information from FOX 13 news reports.

WATCH FOX 13 NEWS:

STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA: