Miami tenants told to evacuate building, but inspections showed no immediate threat
The notices taped on apartment doors of the rundown 97-year-old building in Edgewater made it sound like tenants were in immediate danger. The papers had an alarming heading in bold letters: “NOTICE TO EVACUATE BUILDING ASAP.”
The July 30 letters, left on the doors of multiple $1,000-a-month units at 426 NE 34th St., said management’s structural engineers had found “structural distress” in support columns and that the “building is unsafe for residents.” Some frightened tenants packed suitcases and left immediately.
But when city of Miami building inspectors arrived that day, they did not find life-threatening issues at the three-story building. Neither did a licensed engineer hired by the building’s owner — a Brazilian businessman who’s looking to sell the property and 10 adjacent lots for nearly $50 million in a slice of waterfront Miami that is ripe for redevelopment.
The situation has some residents angry and suspicious of their landlord’s intentions and tactics. The ominous notices were posted a month after the collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, which killed 98 people. Some say building management has taken advantage of the fear sparked by the the disaster to clear out a building before a major land sale.
The thought of living in a structurally unsafe building put “incredible pressure” on residents to leave, said Alana Greer, an attorney with the Community Justice Project who is representing tenants. Greer said it was obvious that when city officials arrived, they weren’t seeing the immediate danger.
“They realized something was going on, that the landlord was not being honest with them and was pressuring them to leave despite there not really being a basis for it,” Greer said.
Public records show inspectors had been there just 10 days earlier and noted some issues that needed attention at the three-story structure, including deteriorated concrete and exposed rebar on the building’s exterior — but the violations were “not an immediate threat to the public,” according to a city inspector’s report.
Even a licensed engineer hired by the property owner, Miami Sunrise Properties, signed a letter that contradicted the ominous notices.
“The subject building is safe for the specified use and present occupancy,” reads the letter that engineer Javier A. Llanos submitted to the city on July 30, the same day tenants were urged to evacuate. Llanos wrote that there are visible signs of distress to the structure and immediate repairs are necessary to avoid compromising the building’s structural integrity in the near future — but he did not warn of any immediate danger.
Owner says ‘the building is not safe’
Still, despite the assessments from the city and the private engineer, a spokesperson for the property owner insisted in an interview with the Miami Herald on Friday that they think the property unsafe.
“It’s our position that the building is not safe,” said Brian Andrews, a spokesperson for Miami Sunrise Properties, citing a crack in the front of the building. “Considering what happened just north of us in Surfside, we’ve told residents that we think you should leave right away and a majority have left ... but there is a small group of residents, I believe a total of four, who have decided to resist our efforts to say your life is more important.”
Shortly after a few residents started discussing pushing back against management, tenants were given eviction notices. Greer called the evictions retaliatory after some residents wanted to collectively challenge the landlord. Tenants are working with the Miami Workers Center to push back against management.
Andrews said the owner was offering tenants their security deposits back, storage units, moving assistance and $1,000 to cover personal expenses.
Contracts were “month to month,” he said, “so it wasn’t a long-term living situation for any of them to begin with.”
He suggested management was being generous when they gave residents 30 days notice even though Florida law only requires 15 — but Miami-Dade County requires a 30-day notice period. County commissioners extended the eviction window in January.
‘The rent is too high right now in Miami’
April Brodhead, a tenant and Miami-Dade College student, told reporters in a press conference Friday outside the building that the issue would be resolved if the owner offered more financial help for tenants who are leaving, and the right to return if the building is renovated.
“We don’t want to be out in the next 30 days. The rent’s too high right now in Miami,” she said. “We kind of want to work with them to get equal or better residence within the same neighborhood.”
State corporation records show that the company that owns the property links back to Brazilian airline mogul Jose Afonso Assumpção. He is trying to sell the land and 10 adjacent lots for nearly $50 million, according to local real estate company Blackbook Properties.
Andrews said he couldn’t comment on whether the property was for sale. Lawyers representing Miami Sunrise did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Redevelopment pressure is already being felt in the neighborhood. The building stands in the shadow of Hamilton on the Bay, a waterfront building where the landlord terminated leases to complete large-scale renovations. Several tenants are disputing the matter with the company who bought the building in 2020.
Brodhead said she’s spoken to a Miami police detective who is investigating the circumstances around the evacuation at 426 NE 34th St. A police department spokesperson told the Herald the department is “currently looking into the matter.”
Carlos Clode, a nine-year resident of the building, said when he saw the evacuation notice, he was surprised to see sudden concerns of the building’s conditions. He said in the past, it’s taken two years to get his air conditioning unit fixed. A leaky faucet once took one year, he said.
“There has not been good maintenance of this building for years,” he said.
This story was originally published August 7, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
