Less than a month after the devastating collapse of Champlain Towers South, a 12-story condominium building in Surfside, Florida, the Miami-Dade County Courthouse has closed its doors.
According to the Associated Press, the 28-story courthouse underwent an inspection back in June by an engineering firm, U.S. Structures, Inc. They found structural damage and distress to its upper floors (16 and above). Their review of the building also included advanced deterioration, numerous cracks and columns, and beams in “poor condition.” This inspection was in response to the deadly collapse of the nearby condo building.
Courthouse employees only recently returned to work inside the building a week before the inspection took place. They will now revert to working from home, and court operations will move to a remote format until the repairs are complete. But they’re expected to begin immediately. In the meantime, the courthouse basement may also get a full inspection.
Other buildings in the area are undergoing similar safety reviews to find any structural damage.
Miami-Dade County has been in the early stages of building a new civil courthouse and selling this one. But it is unclear how the engineering firm’s findings will impact those plans. The courthouse first opened its doors in 1928 and is part of the National Register of Historic Places.
You can learn more about the Miami courthouse and its review here.
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