FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – An aging condo on Fort Lauderdale’s barrier island ordered to evacuate because of an unsafe foundation could be among the first of a long line of condos in desperate need of long-delayed repairs, experts say.
Nearly two weeks ago, unit owners at Springbrook Gardens – a former hospital turned condo building in 1947 – were told they had to be out by noon Friday after the building’s engineer determined the building was unsafe. Residents moved out only to get clearance five days later to move back in under the proviso that emergency repairs get underway as soon as possible, city records show.
Now some who live in the 18-unit building with a view of the Intracoastal Waterway are wondering whether they can afford what might turn into a special assessment of $55,000 or more for each individual owner.
“I don’t want to spend any more money to fix up the building if it’s going to cost $1 million or $2 million,” unit owner Warren Sackler told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. A retired New Yorker, Sackler owns two units at the condo and would end up paying a double assessment.
Across the state, people living in older condos are being told their buildings need millions of dollars in structural repairs. Those high-priced repairs are only adding to the soaring cost of living in the storm zone known as the Sunshine State, observers say.
Back in the day, Florida was known as a cheaper place to live than New York or California, especially for folks in their golden years.
“Not anymore – it’s for the rich,” said Dan Kennedy, a real estate agent who lives on Hollywood beach. “Property taxes, insurance, maintenance fees going up and then all these special assessments for repairs. It’s pricing a lot of people out of the market.”
But the state has sent a long overdue message to condo dwellers across Florida: Time to pay the piper.
“I would say termites, spit and the grace of God are holding up most of these buildings,” Kennedy said. “No one wants to pay the money to fix the problems. They want to do it next year. But there’s no more next year.”
The tragic collapse of Surfside’s Champlain Towers South condo building in 2021 left 98 people dead and led to sweeping reform of the state’s condo inspection law.
The new law, designed to ensure another Surfside tragedy never occurs, requires that any residential tower that’s at least 30 years old be inspected for structural integrity, with new inspections every 10 years.
Before the Surfside incident, milestone inspections were required at the 40-year mark.
If the building sits within 3 miles of the coast, inspections are required as soon as the structure turns 25 years of age.
Bidding wars?
For condo residents who can’t afford costly repairs to bring the building up to code, there’s another solution: Sell. Not just the unit, but the entire building.
In landlocked South Florida where the cost of oceanfront real estate is at a premium, that might just be the next wave of development, local experts say.
“What happens is these buildings become obsolete and it doesn’t make sense to repair them,” said Bobbi Ocean, a Fort Lauderdale real estate agent. “If they sell, they’d get more than if they sold their individual unit because the land is worth way more than the building.”
In some cases, there might even be a bidding war.
“I’m sure the big developers are scouring all over Florida, leaving business cards,” Ocean said. “And that’s how it starts. You’re going to see developers put in good offers. They’re going to give them a good price for a building that’s not worth much. But the land is. That’s already happening in Surfside and other beach areas along the coast.”
But sometimes, not everyone wants to sell.
“You might have one person who’s a holdout and pushing to keep the building standing even if it’s unsafe,” Ocean said. “In that case, I’d try to persuade them to sell.”
That scenario might soon be playing out in Fort Lauderdale at Springbrook Gardens, the condo served an eviction notice and slapped with bright orange “Unsafe Building” notices in late September.
Tom Murphy, president of the Springbrook Gardens condo association, opted to get a second opinion from a different engineering firm. The newly hired engineers did their own inspection and determined the 18-unit building needed emergency repairs but was in no imminent danger of collapse.
Fort Lauderdale’s building officials reviewed their findings and agreed.
‘You guys have to get out’
On Wednesday night, Murphy got the news he’d been waiting for: It was safe for residents to return home to their units at 125 N. Birch Road.
After the Surfside tragedy, more building inspectors are erring on the side of caution when it comes to deciding whether residents need to evacuate, said Greg Batista, a professional engineer with more than 20 years experience in South Florida.
“Getting a second opinion is becoming more prevalent now,” Batista said. “Because of Champlain Towers, you have engineers who are paranoid and worried about being sued. So they’re going to the extreme. Now engineers are being extremely conservative and saying, ‘You guys have to get out.’”
Murphy, a retired New York City cop, moved into Springbrook Gardens more than two years ago. He and his wife were preparing for their daughter’s upcoming Oct. 13 wedding when they got the word they were going to have to move out.
After five days in a hotel, Murphy was happy to be back home.
“That was my goal, to get my residents back in here,” Murphy told the Sun Sentinel. “I wanted my residents back in here. We didn’t know if we were ever going to get back in. Now we’re in the process of hiring a company to repair the foundation. This building is not coming down.”
The repairs are expected to take two weeks. But Murphy said he doesn’t yet know what they might cost.
“Regardless of the price, we’ll sign a contract and get it going,” he said. “The city wants it done immediately.”
‘I’d love to sell’
Sackler, a retired professor who has lived at the condo since 2007, says he’d rather see the entire building sold at this point.
“The city went in and removed the tags even though no repairs have been made yet,” he said. “I don’t know what’s wrong with the building. But it’s never going to be perfect. I’d love to sell it. And we’ve had offers to buy the building. You just have to get everyone to agree to it.”
That’s the trick, Sackler said.
“Right now the condo documents say 100% of the owners have to agree to sell,” he said. “We don’t have that.”
In some cases it doesn’t make sense to sell, said Kennedy, the real estate agent from Hollywood. But in the case of Springbrook Gardens, Kennedy said he would sell his unit simply because of the age of the building.
“Unless you have deep, deep pockets, you’re selling,” Kennedy said. “It’s the perfect storm. If you can weather the storm, you’ll come out ahead. If you can’t weather the storm, you get out.”
Chris Williams, a Fort Lauderdale real estate agent, agreed.
The condo units on their own are never going to sell for as much as the entire building, Williams said.
“Some of these older units have old wiring, low ceilings. They’re hard to sell. And you’re not going to find a buyer because they don’t want to get stuck with a giant bill for repairs. The only option would be to sell the building, knock it down and build a new one.”
Williams knows what he’d do if he lived at Springbrook Gardens.
“I’d say, ‘Let’s sell this pig. It’s almost 80 years old. All we’re doing is throwing money down the drain.’ Whenever you put a safety factor in there and it’s not going to get any better, the only choice is to sell it.”
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