Clearwater condo evacuated had safety inspection in 2024

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Neighbors at a Clearwater Beach condo complex are waiting for inspectors to give them the all-clear to come home after workers noticed major cracks in a garage pillar. 

Crews were in the process of making building repairs at South Beach Condos III on Tuesday when those cracks appeared to be growing. 10 Investigates has been looking into building permits and inspection reports to learn more about the work that was in progress. That work follows a milestone inspection completed in 2024.

Here’s some background on the building. It was built in 1975, according to the Pinellas County Property Appraiser’s website. Due to its age and the fact that it’s a condo three stories or higher, under Florida law, the building was required to have what’s known as a milestone inspection completed before the end of last year. The city says it did not have the report until today, and now we have it too.

The report, which was done in September, concluded that engineers did not observe conditions that would compromise the safety of the building, but it did note that it is important to replace a portion of the under-building garage slab that was found to be deteriorated. 

We pulled up permits for the property and found that was what was being done when crews found the cracks on the pillar. On Wednesday, the city approved another permit to shore up the structure and make it safe.

After back-to-back hurricanes hit our area, engineers say corrosion from saltwater intrusion can be a concern —especially if a building’s seal coating is not maintained. These condos just had a waterproofing project, so it sounds like they were attempting to maintain the building’s exterior.

While any condo in Florida that is 30 years old or older had to have an initial milestone inspection completed already, as buildings age, they’ll have follow-ups every 10 years.

If a building turned 30 after July 1, 2022, that association must have their inspection done by the end of 2025. These are all part of the condo laws put in place after the tragic building collapse in Sufside that left 98 people dead. 

We asked the city of Clearwater how many other condo buildings are not in compliance with turning in their milestone inspections, and a spokesperson tells us it’s almost 25%.

In an update on Thursday night, condo management said “re-entry is not permitted in the building until further notice.”

As crews continue to stabilize the building, management said people should expect to be out of the building for another 72-96 hours.