MIAMI – Mandy Karnauskas is among the neighbors of the waterfront Una Residences construction site in Miami’s Brickell neighborhood who said there are cracks in the concrete and the ground appears to be moving.
The residents’ concerns prompted city officials to take a closer look at the construction site of Una Residences, a 47-story tower with 135 units.
There was a public meeting on Thursday to disclose the findings of the city’s evaluation. Karnauskas, who lives at the Brickell Townhouse, said residents are afraid of the future consequences.
“Damages that we are going to see down the road, special assessments that we are going to see down the road, I don’t think we are going to see buildings tumbling to the ground tomorrow,” Karnauskas said.
Officials reported they have some concerns with the parking garage south of the tower where there are some walls that are heavily cracked and they found structural damage to the building east of Una Residences.
The construction work was temporarily suspended after witnesses reported water was bubbled up to the surface twice. This raised fears over the impact on property and soil erosion. Karnauskas and other residents felt the public meeting on Thursday did little to ease their mounting concerns.
“We really didn’t hear much at all in terms of what they did, what they found,” Karnauskas said. “It was very superficial this morning. We didn’t get much detail.”