NORTH MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – North Miami Beach officials allowed Crestview Towers residents to come back home, but some residents said their nightmare wasn’t over.
It took nearly four years of repairs and inspections for city officials to recently announce that they had deemed the building to be safe.
Ligia Mora, who co-owns an apartment at Crestview Towers, said the structure built in 1972 may be safe but her apartment is far from inhabitable.
“They fixed the balconies but the windows are destroyed,” Mora said.
Structural safety concerns prompted city officials to order a rushed evacuation on July 2, 2021, but residents still had to pay their condo fees.
City officials reported Crestview Towers was about 9 years delinquent on the 40-year recertification that was required by law.
The city’s urgency to evacuate about 300 people from the 156 units followed the Champlain Towers South collapse killing 98 on June 24, 2021, in Surfside.
Firefighters responded to Crestview Towers during a fire on Aug. 9, 2021, while the building was vacant. It appeared to have been an electrical fire.
Mora said the experience has been draining for her and her family. She doesn’t have the money they need to make the fixes required to move back.