The sudden collapse of a 40-year-old beachfront condominium near Miami Beach might be an “extremely rare” tragedy, but it has heightened the awareness this week over how similar structures are inspected and safeguarded along Alabama’s Gulf Coast.
It also illustrated two approaches in Alabama toward government-led inspections. In Gulf Shores, a new 2015 ordinance established a three-year period for city inspectors to review buildings. Orange Beach does not have a similar ordinance in place, but the Fire Marshal does perform annual inspections of beachfront condos. If problems are found during those reviews, then the city’s building inspectors are called in to assist.
The partial collapse of the 12-story Champlain Towers condo complex in Surfside, Florida, left four dead and 159 unaccounted as of Friday. Search and rescue operations continue, as investigations are underway to find out the exact cause as to why the condo crumbled with people inside.
Building officials in Orange Beach and Gulf Shores believe the collapse was an “aberration” and one that likely won’t lead to widespread changes. Though both cities have condos that were built in the 1980s, most of the beachfront development is new and emerged after Hurricane Ivan’s destruction to older structures in 2004.
In Florida, experts are cautioning that it’s simply too early to cite a specific cause behind the collapsed condo tower. The Champlain Towers were constructed in 1981 and was coming up on a 40-year recertification. According to Miami-Dade County’s building code, all residential buildings are required to undergo a recertification process when they hit 40 years. That process includes inspections to ensure the building is habitable and safe.
An engineer’s survey in 2018 raised concerns about structural damage to concrete slabs and cracked concrete at the Champlain Towers, according to a report released online overnight Saturday. The survey did not give any indication that the condo tower was in danger of collapsing.
“The majority of condos in Gulf Shores/Orange Beach were built after Hurricane Ivan,” said John Cleary, associate professor in the Department of Civil, Coastal & Environmental Engineering at the University of South Alabama. “Large structures like these and really all structures in the region are built to modern building codes that are specifically designed for life safety. Also, both cities have building departments that review plans, issue permits, and perform building inspections.”
He said the soils in South Florida as opposed to the sandier Coastal Alabama are “often susceptible to long-term settlement and sinkholes.”
Cleary added, “Based on my knowledge of building practices in this region and my knowledge of structural failures, I am very confident that this type of failure has a very low probability of occurrence.”
Building inspections
Brandan Franklin, chief building official and floodplain coordinator with the city of Gulf Shores, said the city’s guidelines require most, if not all, multi-family structures to undergo an inspection every three years.
“This includes making visual inspections of the condominium common areas and individual units,” said Franklin. “If any of the structural components appear to be compromised during our inspection, we can require additional testing or inspections from engineering or third-party testing agencies to ensure the structural integrity of the buildings.”
Franklin said the inspections have not uncovered major problems with the condo towers in Gulf Shores.
“While several of the wooden pile supported structures have repaired and replaced foundation supports after having these inspections performed, finding compromised components of the concrete structures has been very minimal,” Franklin said.
The Gulf Shores requirements were adopted two years after a deck on the first floor of a two-story beachfront condo collapsed during a large gathering of spring breakers, injuring seven people. The Gulf Shores inspection program applies to all rental homes, not just condo towers.
Adam Roberson, chief building official with the city of Orange Beach, said the city’s Fire Marshal’s office performs annual checks of the beachfront condos to determine if they are compliant with fire code provisions. He said that if conditions observed during those inspections raise concerns over the building’s safety and structure, then that information will be relayed to the city’s building department.
“If a concern is brought to the Building Department either by the Fire Marshal’s Office or by a report from an individual, the Building Department will investigate the complaint,” said Roberson. “The investigation may include review and inspection of the matter and this may also include the city securing an engineer or other technical support to assess the situation.”
Roberson said it’s not rare for the Fire Marshal to reach out to his department. He said that they typically ask for assistance two or three times a month.
Stringent codes
Orange Beach and Gulf Shores, like other cities in Baldwin County, have stringent building codes in place to ensure the structural integrity of new construction can withstand hurricane-force winds.
Roberson said that new condo construction is regulated by the International Building Code, and plans are reviewed by certified structural engineers. Throughout the new construction, the project will be inspected by engineers and building inspectors with the city. The condo must be approved by the engineer and pass all inspections before a certificate of occupancy is issued, Roberson said.
After that, he said “it is the responsibility of the building owner to maintain the building and ensure it is safe.”
Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon said while there have been talks about added inspection requirements, he’s unsure whether the city can provide additional oversight to what a homeowners association or a structural engineer hired by a condo owner can already do for themselves.
“What are the costs to catch that one-in-a-million (observation) that someone may be lucky enough to find a crack that 15 years from now might result in a collapse?” Kennon said. “I don’t know. To me, it looks like (the Florida collapse) is an aberration.”
He added, “You battle between government overreach and interference and public safety. You try to walk that line.”
State Senator Chris Elliott, R-Daphne, said that Baldwin County has some of the “best codes around” when it comes to inspection residential and commercial properties. He said requirements for newer construction are stringent in that buildings have to be designed and constructed to withstand hurricane-strength winds.
Alabama leads the nation in having the most structures with Fortified certification to withstand 130 mph winds. The Fortified roof certification was developed by the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety, and Alabama leads the country by a long shot in Fortified roof structures with more than 16,000.
Alabama does not have a statewide building code, and insurance surveys have dinged the state for the lack of one. But Mobile and Baldwin counties have been recognized for strengthening their codes.
“The homes are built much better and safer than they have before,” said Elliott. “That’s the case with our commercial structures as well.”
Eddie Harper, a building official in Baldwin County, said after a hurricane – such as Hurricane Sally last September -- if there is structural damage to any of the buildings, a structural engineer would be required to inspect the building before its allowed to be reoccupied.
Harper said he’s unaware of an Alabama state requirement that requires structural inspections of condo buildings.
Climate change
Mike Kreger, the Drummond endowed chair of the College of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering at the University of Alabama, said he thinks any provision by local governments to ensure routine inspections are occurring at the condo buildings “is very important.”
“I don’t want to say a bad thing about any building owners, but it’s nice to have a checks and balance system,” said Kreger. “Something that keeps the owners honest and makes sure that something is not deteriorating over time … it’s a good policy.”
Kreger and Cleary at USA, said coastal cities are going to have to be mindful of the effects of rising seas and climate change on new construction.
“Who knows what we are facing decades in the future,” Kreger said. “If you’re building a new structure and how that might affect the foundations of structures in the future is something we have to give some thought into.”
Cleary said it’s important for building owners to have a well-developed maintenance plan and to contract with an engineer if there are concerns with a building.
“This is particularly true when considering the effects of sea level rise,” he said. “Changes in sea level can affect groundwater tables and the salinity of the groundwater, which can have an effect on building foundations.”
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