Florida Condo Tower Evacuated Despite Having Completed Life-Safety Inspection

In this issue of the Miami Condo Market Intelligence Report™, we discuss the emergency evacuation of a Gulf Coast condo tower that had completed its mandatory Milestone Inspection Report in 2024.

Volume 2025, Issue 20 (Subscribe here)

For this week’s Miami Condo Market Intelligence Report™ newsletter, we examine whether the Florida Legislature has gone far enough to address life-safety concerns for Vintage condo buildings in the aftermath of the Surfside condo collapse in June 2021.

After nearly 100 people died and a $1 billion settlement was paid out to the families of the victims, Florida has adopted a number of measures to ensure that there is never another Surfside tragedy.

The Florida Legislature has passed a series of laws forcing the state’s 28,250 condo associations with about 1.2 million units to conduct regular life-safety inspections by experts, collect adequate reserves to pay for current and future construction fixes and bring transparency to the process for concerned unit owners.

These steps have led to a surge in maintenance fees, special assessments and insurance prices.

As a result, South Florida - which has nearly 13,000 associations with about 610,000 units - is experiencing a surge in condo resale listings, falling prices and a bearish outlook for Vintage condos that are at least 30 years old as cash-strapped unit owners scramble to unload their properties.

Our research has found that in April 2025 - the last month of the recently concluded Winter Buying Season - that the South Florida condo market had more than 30,465 units listed for resale in the tricounty region of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach, according to a recent report.

This represents nearly a 28 percent increase from April 2024 when there were less than 23,825 condo listings on the market, according to a report from CondoVulturesRealty.com.

For comparison, the number of South Florida condo listings in the three preceding Aprils totaled less than 15,160 in 2023, less than 10,500 in 2022 and less than 19,640 in 2021.

In the Summer Buying Season of 2020 - at the onset of the pandemic - there were about 26,665 condos listed for resale in South Florida, according to the report.

The last time South Florida began a Summer Buying Season with this many condos listed for sale was in 2016 when more than 31,700 units were on the market due in part to a building boom that was underway.

Despite the current hardships being experienced from the 2025 Florida Condo Association Financial Cliff, there has been a general sense that things are getting better compared to the dark days immediately after the Champlain Towers South collapsed on the Miami-Dade County barrier island.

Even Florida State Rep. Vicki Lopez (R-District 113) recently canceled her “Do Not Buy” a Florida condo warning earlier this month, some 11 months after first alerting buyers in June 2024, according to a report.

The bullishness, however, may be short lived.

On May 6, 2025, a 50-year-old Clearwater condo tower on Florida’s west coast was abruptly evacuated after contractors conducting necessary fixes identified in a “milestone inspection completed in 2024“ discovered that a support pillar in the 12-story, oceanfront building had splintered in the surface parking lot, according to WTSP.com.

Contractors called 911, triggering an emergency response from police, fire and engineers to try to shore up the South Beach III Condos building at 1460 Gulf Blvd. in Sand Key, according to WTSP.com.

Some 60 residents, employees and guest were forced to flee as government officials worked through the night to stabilize the building by installing steel scaffolding.

Steel pipes were installed around the compromised pillar located underneath the building to shore up the structure.

Additional pipes were installed on a number of the building’s balconies to further reinforce the tower’s structural integrity.

In the days following the rapid emergency evacuation, residents of the building “were given 15 minutes each to go back in and retrieve belongings,” according to WFTS Tampa Bay.

“I had gotten home the day before from Miami, and I was over in Surfside, and saw where that building went down,” condo resident Bobby Liles told WFTS Tampa Bay. “And so for me it was knowing that in the middle of the night everybody died in that building, I was comfortable that I would rather be safe than sorry.”

In subsequent days, the building’s condo association has permitted most residents to return to the building other than “owners of units directly above the damaged pillar … until more repairs can be made,” according to WFLA.com

Returning residents are prohibited from doing any construction or repairs in their units until further notice. They are also prohibited from receiving any deliveries or moving any furniture that weighs more than 75 pounds, according to WFLA.com.

This situation raises a critical question: Has Florida done enough to ensure condo building safety in the wake of the Surfside disaster, given that buildings are being evacuated even after completing mandated life-safety inspections and undergoing necessary repairs?

We are pleased to offer a portion of our research for free to our newsletter subscribers and MiamiCondo.Club readers, providing a glimpse into our insights.

For full access to our comprehensive reports, statistical charts, virtual Monthly Meetings and exclusive MeetUp events, we invite you to join the Miami Condo Investing Club™.

The Club's mission is to foster a community that shares realtime, actionable intelligence on the latest real estate trends, emerging opportunities and trusted service providers throughout South Florida.

Whether you are a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) condo buyer or a seasoned real estate professional, the Club provides invaluable resources, including up-to-date statistics, expert analysis and access to tailored consulting services.

We also encourage you to explore our podcast, available on all major platforms such as Apple, Spotify and YouTube, for insightful discussions and updates.

As always, our consulting, expert witness and buyside brokerage services remain available to you, building on our established reputation since 2006.

For specific information regarding discounted condo resales or bulk deals in South Florida, please visit CondoVulturesRealty.com or contact our office directly at 305.865.5859.

— Peter Zalewski, Founder of the Miami Condo Investing Club™

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This information is intended for general informational purposes only and is based on research, personal experience, and interviews. It does not constitute legal advice, as we are not legal professionals. While we strive for accuracy and completeness, this information is provided on an "as is" basis, without any warranties or guarantees.

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