Village officials said Friday night they are monitoring a failure of at least one post-tension cable that snapped at the Emerald Bay condominium Friday that sent chunks of concrete flying in the luxury condominium’s garage. More than a dozen parking spaces were closed off with yellow caution tape and holes could be seen in the garage ceiling.
“We know it popped off,” said Jeremy Calleros Gauger, the Village’s Building, Zoning and Planning director, who said the building’s engineering team had been cooperating with his staff.
He said there was no indication of any danger to residents at EmeraldBay. The building has been working to get its 40-year recertification and is under supervision by the Board of Special Magistrates.
Post-tension cables are used to strengthen concrete slabs and are kept under intense stress as part of their design. When they rupture however, they can sometimes rip with devastating force. They also can be costly to repair.
Gauger could only confirm one snapped cable related to ongoing work at the building’s pool deck, but a condo association email sent to unit owners last night said that a cable tendon in the garage had failed, saying it was “the third such occurrence.” EmeraldBay President Bonnie Sekeres hung up on a reporter when called for comment.
The email sent to residents said EmeraldBay is seeking temporary parking from the Key Colony Homeowners’ Association for affected residents. The HOA master association has scheduled an emergency meeting for Monday to consider the EmeraldBay’s request, according to a condo official.
One item that might make the temporary parking discussion awkward is ongoing litigation between EmeraldBay and Key Colony. The master association says EmeraldBay is not paying the full amount owed, and in response, EmeraldBay filed a countersuit. The case remains pending and depositions of various condo officials, including Sekeres and former president Louisa Conway have been taken.
EmeraldBay is also defending a lawsuit from its concrete contractor, National Concrete Preservation, which alleges nonpayment.
Gauger said the Village is very aware of the EmeraldBay construction. “There is a very high level of scrutiny on this project,” he said. But he added: “something is happening with the post-tension. We need to do some forensic work.”
Under the certification process, it’s up to the condo buildings to hire engineers who then certify that repairs are being done properly. The Village reviews the work done by engineers. Gauger said in EmeraldBay’s case, a separate engineering firm audited the work.
“It’s been checked by multiple engineers,” he said.
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Tony Winton is the editor-in-chief of the Key Biscayne Independent and president of Miami Fourth Estate, Inc. He worked previously at The Associated Press for three decades winning multiple Edward R. Murrow awards. He was president of the News Media Guild, a journalism union, for 10 years. Born in Chicago, he is a graduate of Columbia University. His interests are photography and technology, sailing, cooking, and science fiction.