Preservationists release engineering report questioning demolition need
The Miami Design Preservation League, which is appealing a decision to demolish the Deauville Beach Resort in Miami Beach, released a report questioning the need for demolition.
An engineer hired by the Miami Beach preservation group fighting the demolition of the Deauville Beach Resort has authored a new report questioning whether the owner of the building has proven that it’s necessary to tear down the historic hotel.
The engineer’s report — commissioned as a last-ditch effort to stop the Deauville’s demolition — does not include any on-site obser
vations or testing. But it aims to peer review a prior engineering assessment paid for by the owners of the Deauville that led Miami Beach Building Official Ana Salgueiro to issue a demolition order for the building at 6701 Collins Ave.
The city issued a permit for the total demolition of the Deauville in March after a Miami-Dade judge ordered that the city process the hotel’s application for demolition. Work crews last month began tearing down part of the facade of the hotel, including its bright red sign. The Deauville famously hosted the Beatles in 1964.
The 17-story tower portion of the hotel is set to be imploded in June, according to a demolition notice filed with MiamiDade County.
The new report, paid for by the Miami Design Preservation League, states there was not enough data and analysis in the owner’s prior report to determine that the Deauville is in imminent danger and requires demolition. It also states that more studies are needed to determine the right course of action for the building, but that its life can be extended.
“There have been many buildings with similar conditions that have been substantially renovated and repaired, and there is nothing in the structural report that demonstrates that rehabilitation is not possible with the Deauville,” structural engineer Mohamed Fahmy wrote in the 14-page report.
The Miami Design Preservation League, which is appealing the demolition order, has a scheduled hearing before the MiamiDade County Board of Rules and Appeal on April 21. MDPL Executive Director Daniel Ciraldo said he hopes the new report can convince the board to overturn the demolition order.
“I think now it’s pretty clear that this building is not in any imminent risk,” Ciraldo told the Miami Herald.
The original report, a 124-page assessment done by structural engineer Heather Anesta, does not suggest that a collapse is imminent, but states the building could only be repaired through the widespread replacement of structural elements that would require extensive shoring, an “extremely high cost” and the risk of collapse. It recommended demolishing the Deauville before hurricane season starts in June.
Salgueiro, who is also a structural engineer, issued the demolition order in January after she said she confirmed the findings in the original report during a site visit with a team of city staff and outside experts.
In a statement Thursday, Salgueiro said the city would respond to the peer review at next week’s hearing.
“The conditions are well reflected in the report and the inspection corroborated this information,” she said.
The building has been vacant since a 2017 electrical
THE BUILDING HAS BEEN VACANT SINCE A 2017 ELECTRICAL FIRE CLOSED IT.
fire closed it. Miami Beach sued the
Deauville’s owners in 2019 for neglecting to maintain the property.
Fahmy, the engineer MDPL hired, acknowledged that he did not see the conditions of the building himself. In January, the judge overseeing the Deauville lawsuit denied the city’s request for an independent inspection of the building.
Fahmy told the Herald that the original report contained some statistical inaccuracies and that Anesta did not conduct enough tests or analyses to get a complete picture of the building’s condition.
Still, he said, Salgueiro could have seen something more serious during her site visit that was not conveyed in the report.
“The report did not prove imminent danger, that it needs to be demolished,” Fahmy said.
Attorney Matias Dorta, who represents the Deauville owners, said his clients stand by the recommendation to demolish the building, which he noted was an opinion held by multiple engineers.
Dorta said Salgueiro did not solely rely on Anesta’s report in condemning the building. She also confirmed the findings in the report during the site visit and sent the report to a Miami-Dade County engineer, who concurred with the recommendation to demolish.
“It was only after all of the foregoing that the city issued its order to demolish and [the] permit,” Dorta said. “Thus, the city’s decision to order the demolition was based on more than Heather Anesta’s thorough assessment.”
Martin Vassolo: 305-376-2071, martindvassolo