MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Miami-Dade Deputy Building Official Sergio Ascunce spoke with Local 10 News’ Hatzel Vela on Thursday to discuss building recertification and how it has changed in Miami-Dade after the Surfside condo collapse.
Ascunce was asked by Local 10′s Hatzel Vela, “Why is this so important?”
“Well, it’s really a level of safety,” said Ascunce.”We have an environment conducive to deteriorating buildings if it’s not well-maintained.”
By way of virtual workshops, officials want to educate building owners, condo associations and residents on how the new recertification process works.
Two of the latest incidents were covered by Local 10 News after a Hialeah apartment building was deemed unsafe after a partial structural collapse.
On Thursday morning, residents of a Miami Beach condo building were forced to suddenly evacuate after an unsafe structure notice was posted by the City of Miami.
Ascunce said the recertification process is to “get a better set of trained eyes on these existing buildings.”
As a result of the recent collapses, only structural and electrical engineers will be able to look at buildings four stories and taller in Miami-Dade.
“We feel that they have they have the design experience to understand how these taller buildings are designed, how they react to loads and how they age,” said Ascunce.
Recertification now starts at 30 years for all buildings but if you’re three miles from the coastline, the state says your condo or co-op, three stories and higher, has to be recertified at 25 years and every 10 years intervals afterward.
“There are existing buildings, they have aged--and we need to understand how they have aged,” Ascunce said.
Those that decide to go through the recertification process can also learn what to do when receiving a notification, what to expect from the process and what kind of expert should be hired.
“Make repairs timely so they don’t worse and become expensive structural repairs at the end,” Ascunce suggested.
If you would like to learn more about Miami-Dade’s recertification process, click here.