Emergency repair work has started at Vero Beach’s Seaquay condominium complex on Highway A1A, the only building on the 32963 barrier island that flunked the inspection mandated by the Florida state law passed in the wake of the 2021 Surfside disaster that killed 98 people. A garage at one other condo complex in Indian River County, Robles del Mar in the town of Indian River Shores, also failed the inspection, but the residences at Robles passed. Robles is looking at, in the near future, starting major structural repairs to its underground garage, where chunks of concrete have been falling off the ceiling in some spots. The Seaquay complex, which was built in 1984 and sits very close the water line – less than 70 feet at high tide – and is thus more exposed to the effects of wind and water, was in the worst shape of all Indian River County condo buildings that were inspected by licensed engineers. All other structures of three stories or higher within 3 miles of the Indian River County coastline that were at least 30 years old, and thus fell under the new law, passed the first milestone inspections and needed only minor repairs that their reserve funds should easily be able to take care of. Seaquay’s milestone inspection, according to public records, found “dangerous conditions” requiring emergency concrete restoration at the northeast balcony column. That part of the building has now been covered with a protective tarp while construction crews from a West Palm Beach contractor drill to remove and replace crumbling concrete and metal rebar along the vertical row of balconies. Scaffolding for similar work extended along most of the length of the five-tower complex. The $2 million repair project is scheduled to take between 18 and 24 months, but a member of the construction crew who hails from Honduras said he had been told by his employer to expect to be working on the project for two years. Noise from jackhammers and drills was loud on a typical weekday morning last week and no residents ventured out to use the oceanside pool amid the din on a sunny day. Seaquay Condo Association President Jane Moreland referred all questions about the repair work to the property manager for the complex, Mona Bakley of First Service Residential located on Cardinal Drive. However, Bakley asked for any questions to be submitted in writing via email and then failed to respond. Most Seaquay residents emerging from their condos would not speak to reporters, either, apparently for fear that any adverse publicity about the emergency repairs would depress real estate values and make units harder to sell. Special assessments to pay for the repairs have been rumored to be as high as $75,000, depending on the size of the condo. However, one resident who would not give his name seemed to be taking the bad news in stride. “Assessments?” he shrugged. “Sure, there have always been assessments – what else is new?” At present, seven of the 71 condo units are listed for sale with various local real estate agents, while another seven are available as rentals. That figure is not considered extraordinarily high for a complex the size of Seaquay, so most condo owners seem prepared to ride out the repairs, the noise, the dust and the increased costs. The units for sale range from an $869,000 two-bedroom, two-bath condo of just under 1,500 square feet to a $1.9 million four-bedroom, four-bath unit that measures 3,660 square feet, all with stunning ocean views. The iconic Seaquay complex includes various amenities like ping-pong and shuffleboard tables in a recreation room as well as Vero Beach’s only private pier, complete with chairs and fishing rod holders for avid fans of ocean fishing. The new Florida law prevented homeowners associations (HOAs) from “kicking the can down the road” and failing to fully fund reserves for future repairs in an effort to prevent additional disasters like the collapse of the Champlain Towers in Surfside. Condo owners and associations have complained that the law, though well-intended, has had unforeseen consequences that, coupled with rising insurance costs, have driven up prices to the point where retired people on a fixed income can’t afford to continue to live in their condos. The condo cost crisis has even caused a rift between Gov. Ron DeSantis and his usually docile Republican-majority Florida state legislature. DeSantis wanted a special legislative session to “fix” the problem, but the leaders of the state house and senate balked. Instead, different versions of relief amendments are winding their way through state senate and house committees to provide some modest help. Mark Shea, HOA president at the Robles del Mar complex and a leader in the Treasure Coast Condominium Alliance (TCCA), including about 20 HOAs from Vero Beach to Martin County, said he prefers the senate version, which allows HOAs to fund reserves at least in part with a Letter of Credit (LOC) from a bank, which provides some flexibility in financing and might prevent catastrophically high assessments or maintenance fee increases. Shea urged all condo residents to continue to press their local representatives to back the state senate version of the relief legislation. In general, Indian River County fared better than its neighbors along the Treasure Coast in the milestone inspections that had to be completed by the end of last year. In St. Lucie County, 11 buildings failed the inspections along with six buildings in Martin County. One condo building in Jensen Beach, Villa del Sol, was condemned because of extensive concrete damage and had to be evacuated immediately.