New York Post

Exodus at another ‘unsound’ Surfside condo

- Jorge Fitz-Gibbon

A Florida condo building less than six blocks from the ruins of Champlain Towers South has been found to be structural­ly unsound — and residents are moving out in droves.

Regent Palace in Surfside, whose residents funded their own engineerin­g study after the June 24 collapse in the same town, got an urgent notice from local inspectors about serious problems there — and didn’t wait to pack up and leave, NBC Miami reported.

“Honestly, you know, the building was analyzed and deemed unsafe, so we’re not gonna take any risk,” Regent resident Theo Magnat said.

“You know, a couple of blocks down a building actually collapsed, so we don’t want anything tragic to happen,” Magnat said.

The Surfside Building Department told the condo associatio­n the situation was so dire that the 70-year-old building needed to make immediate repairs before even seeking permits.

“Place shoring around all damaged columns, do not wait for building permits to do so,” city officials said in an e-mail using boldface font. “It is imperative that you act immediatel­y without delay.”

Regent condo board president Joerg Dokondke said the building began installing the additional support on the columns even before the city’s email.

“I believe we are doing what is necessary to protect people and property,” he said.

Allyn Kilsheimer, a structural engineer hired by the Surfside town government after the Champlain disaster, said vacating Regent residents are doing the prudent thing.

“If you see something that worries you in a building, you ought to say something,” he said.

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