Another Balcony Collapses in the Keys

MARATHON, Fla. – Nearly one month after a concrete balcony collapsed at an apartment complex in the Florida Keys, many residents said they are still looking for a place to stay after the building was deemed unsafe by Marathon city officials.

Marty Curry recalled hearing a crunching and creaking sound before the collapse. “I don’t know how I got off the sofa as fast as I did,” she said.

“Of course, our immediate reaction was fear and panic,” said resident Danielle Moorad. “Next thing we knew we had about five, ten minutes to get out.”

According to the city manager, contractors and engineers hired by the property owner discovered the problems in the complex were worse than they thought.

The building, workforce housing owned by the St. Columba Episcopal church, was deemed unsafe in an engineering report after “spalling and cracks were noticed at the balconies.” “The main structural members (beams & columns) require immediate concrete repair,” the report also noted.

In the wake of Surfside, Keys officials determined that multi-story buildings more than 17 years old must undergo an Existing Building Recertification (EBR) every 10 years. The complex was up for an EBR, according to the city manager.

This week, workers put up fencing to keep people from the building, and last Sunday was the last day people could get their things.

Moorad and Curry, along with several others who lived in the complex, said they are struggling to find another home.

“There is just nowhere to live that’s affordable,” Curry said.

“We lost everything. There’s a lot of my things that I just have to give up,” Moorad said. “Any life that I had built for myself coming down here, it seems like it’s been shattered pretty quickly.”

A representative of the St. Columba Episcopal Church, the building owner, said there was no comment at this time and they will be consulting with lawyers.