KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Photos and an email from an architecture firm reveal the extent of the damage to three condominium buildings in Kissimmee which have been deemed unsafe.
The buildings are all part of the Images Condominium Association and are located at 5271, 5275 and 5279 Images Circle, which is just off West Osceola Parkway.
[TRENDING: Cops: Former Miami football player tried to steal helicopter at airport | Bill Cosby freed from prison | Sonic Boom! Hear SpaceX landing]
According to Osceola County Permit Center website, 5271 and 5275 Images Circle were deemed unsafe Wednesday while 5279 Images Circle was deemed unsafe on Thursday.
In an email obtained through the Osceola County Permit Center, Farmer Architecture, Inc. alerted First Service Residential to the condition of the buildings.
“I am writing with reference to our phone call earlier today.
Ae (SIC) you know, I have just returned from the site visit to the above referenced facility where I met with our structural engineering consultant. We viewed the areas where the entry balcony floors have cracked and settled in buildings 6 and 7. At my earlier request to you, you had your maintenance staff cut an opening thru the stucco ceiling in building 6 so that we could see the condition of the supporting structure. What we observed is significantly rotted wood framing and rotted plywood sub floor under the concrete topping slab. There were also other openings in other areas where we observed similar rot conditions and also rotted wood columns. We also noticed that rot is occurring in the roof of this breezeway as well.
We also looked at buildings 7 and 5, where we observed areas of similar conditions and we suspect that similar rot conditions occur there as well.
My engineer’s conclusion is that these areas are unsafe and in danger of collapse. He recommended closing these areas to traffic until further investigation can occur to determine the full extent of the rotted wood problem. We suggest that you may want to engage a general contractor that specializes in this type of repair work and begin by removing all stucco ceilings to uncover the extent of the problem and to provide temporary shoring where necessary to prevent collapse.
As I mentioned during our phone call, this type of repair will cost tens of thousands of dollars and could easily cost several hundred thousand dollars depending on the extent of the damage.
At your request, my engineer will prepare a letter to you describing in more detail what he saw and we should have that to you along with an estimate of our professional fees to design the remedial work early next week.
Please feel free to call me to discuss this further.”
Farmer Architecture, Inc.
News 6 also obtained photos from the permit center showing some of the damage detailed in the email, which is affecting about 72 units at the condominium complex.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.