LTC 002-2005 (322-2005) 900 Collins Avenue - Coral Rock Home
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
Office of the City Manager
m
Letter to Commission No. 322-2005
From:
Mayor David Dermer and Members of the City Commission
Jorge M. Gonza'3e ~&-.j-
City Manager U
900 Collins Aven - Coral Rock Home
Demolition Status Report
Date: January 3, 2005
To:
Subject:
On December 15, 2004, the Miami-Dade County Unsafe Structures Board continued action on the
above noted structure to the January 19th, 2005 meeting. As part of this action, the Unsafe
Structures Board accepted the settlement agreement endorsed, in principle, by the property owner,
City Staff and in the Historic Preservation Board Resolution of December 14, 2004, with the caveat
that the Unsafe Structures Board would retain jurisdiction to hear the City's engineer report on
whether the structure can be repaired.
Further, the Unsafe Structures Board determined that it will rule on whether or not the Building shall
be demolished at the January meeting and required that all of the safety considerations imposed at
the November 17, 2004 meeting remain in force.
The Building Official, in separate correspondence to the City's independent engineer, has outlined
the minimum criteria and requirements that must be satisfied, in order for any restoration plan to
meet minimum code requirements. In response to this correspondence, the City's independent
engineer has indicated that he could not satisfy the requirements of the Building Official within a 30
day time period, not within the parameters of his current contract. The administration has contacted
a second consulting engineer, Disimone, but they also indicated that they would have trouble
meeting the requirements setforth by the Building Official within the current timeframe.
The Attorney for the owners of 900 Collins Avenue believes his clients would not object to Mr.
Gopman proceeding with preparations for load testing the coral rock structure, provided all
applicable liability issues could be properly addressed, indemnifying and holding harmless the
owners, with any necessary insurance in place. However, any such agreement by the owners would
also be contingent upon the Building Official approving Mr. Gopman's load testing plans,
methodology and procedures, as well as approving access to the building relative to life-safety, and
issuing a building permit for the testing to be performed.
At this point it is unlikely that all of the necessary preparations could be made and the testing
completed in a manner consistent with the requirements of the Building Official b~ January 19th,
2005. Mr. Gopman may appear before the Unsafe Structures Board on January 19t to discuss his
assessment of the condition of the building, and the methodology he would propose to safely test
and preserve part of the historic structure and bring it into compliance with the Florida Building
Code. If his proposal makes sense, the Unsafe Structures Board may see fit to grant a further
extension of time.
The Building Official has sent another letter to Mr. Gopman formally requesting a specific estimate
as to the amount of time and the expense required to perform the work he has outlined. The
Page: 2
Date: January 3, 2005
LTC - 900 Collins Avenue Emergency Demolition - Status Report
Administration is awaiting a response from Mr. Gopman and if the scope of services exceeds
$25,000, Commission approval for such an expenditure would be required.
The City's Historic Preservation Board will be discussing this matter again at their January 11,2005
meeting.
The Administration will continue to update the Commission on the progress of this matter, as it
proceeds to the Historic Preservation Board and the Unsafe Structures Board. If you have any
questions relative to this property, or need additional information, please contact me.
JMG:~:JGG:TRM
DOCUMENT5
Attachments
c: Murray Dubbin, City Attorney
Gary Held, First Assistant City Attorney
Rhonda Montoya, First Assistant City Attorney
Bob Parcher, City Clerk
Phil Azan, Building Official
Jorge G. Gomez, Planning Director
William Cary, Assistant Planning Director
Thomas R. Mooney, Design and Preservation Manager
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