Dozens Forced Out After Authorities Condemn North Miami Beach Apartment Complex

Dozens Forced Out After Authorities Condemn North Miami Beach Apartment Complex


MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Dozens of North Miami Beach families are without a place to call home Tuesday afternoon.

People living at the Bayview 60 Homes apartment building were forced out of their homes unexpectedly on Monday when engineers uncovered major structural issues.

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All morning, it was a race against the clock.

About 60 families rushed to gather their things after engineers ordered a mandatory evacuation.

“They said you have until tomorrow at 2 p.m. to vacate your unit and the premises for everybody,” said Austin Harper, who was forced to evacuate.

At 2 p.m. Tuesday, the building was condemned, and everyone was forced out.

Now, dozens of people are scrambling to find new housing in a market that’s at an all-time high.

“Here’s my new house. I’m just kidding. This is my storage where I’m going to keep all my belongings for a while until I find a new place to stay,” said Jorge Saivay as he shows us his storage unit.

On Monday, he had a home. Tuesday, he packed up his life into boxes and moved it into this storage unit. He has lived in the building for 10 years and says it’s likely been unsafe for much longer than the owner will admit.

“We were told there were some structural issues with the building like two years ago, so they’ve been trying to fix the building,” he explained.

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We asked people packing up trucks and UHauls, where they’re heading.

For some, it’s a friend’s home. For others, a family member, but some say they don’t know where they’ll go.

“It’s hell. It’s crazy and the craziest thing is the building manager moved three days ago. He knew what was going on and he didn’t advise anyone else,” explained Giovanni.

Jorge Saivay said he and his family will likely have to pay double for an apartment that’s the same size.

The City of North Miami Beach released a statement, which in part read:

“The City of North Miami Beach will give the property owner two to three months to decide what she plans to do with the building: Repair or demolish.” If the owner doesn’t come up with a plan, the building will likely be demolished.

“It is what it is,” he said.

From Friday to Tuesday, families will be allowed back inside the building again to pick up larger items like furniture.

Each floor will be on a schedule.

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After Tuesday, April 12th, the building will be vacant. We asked the engineer who ordered the evacuation, what’s wrong with the building. They didn’t want to comment.



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