Clearwater condo residents still not allowed to return 

Residents of Clearwater’s South Beach III condominiums were required to evacuate Tuesday “out of an abundance of caution,” according to Joelle Castelli, the City’s public communications director. The mandatory evacuation was enforced after cracks were found in a column supporting the building.  

South Beach III, 1460 Gulf Blvd., was undergoing permitted work in the garage when the cracks were discovered by a construction worker. Soon after, the condos’ management company, engineer and the City of Clearwater decided to order the evacuation. 

The “cracks and voids” in the column, Castelli explained in a prepared statement, “caused concern for the structural integrity of the building.”

Castelli told the Catalyst there are no updates as to when residents will be able to return.

Once the potential safety concern became evident, the City of Clearwater quickly issued a permit to allow a general contractor to fix the support column and keep it in place. Before residents are able to return, an inspection will be conducted “to verify the work,” Castelli said.

“The city’s Building Official will not approve occupying the building until a structural engineer has given us a report that the structure is stable and OK to occupy.” 

South Beach III was built circa 1978, and has 140 individual residential units located on 12 floors. All 60 of the building’s residents were forced to leave indefinitely. 

An evaluation performed by Karins Engineering in August and September 2024 determined that the South Beach III condo building was safe for residents to live in.  

The company in its reports stated that “we have not observed conditions that would compromise the safety of the building for its intended use and occupancy.” South Beach III’s overall structure was said to be in “good condition” and that “no substantial structural deterioration was noted.”

Additionally, Karins stated that it did not find any “hidden foundations or groundwork.” 

The engineering company was hired to perform a milestone inspection required by Florida law after Surfside’s Champlain Towers South collapsed in June 2021. The collapse led to 98 deaths and made Florida lawmakers reconsider the safety requirements of older condominiums. 

Milestone inspections must be completed if a building is 30 years old and three stories high or more and repeated every 10 years. Buildings 30 years or older before July 2022 were required to submit a report by December 31, 2024.

South Beach III’s reports should have been submitted to the City of Clearwater by that date, but the City did not receive them from the condo’s owners until recently.

Karins Engineering did not immediately respond to messages left by the Catalyst.