A large crack in a support column forced the evacuation of a 12-story condo building in Clearwater, putting Florida’s ongoing condo safety overhaul back into the spotlight. Crews have now installed temporary support structures on every floor of the building, while residents remain displaced until engineers complete a full safety inspection. The damage was uncovered Tuesday as crews worked on the building’s parking garage, repairs triggered by a recent “milestone inspection,” required to have been done by the end of 2024 for buildings 3+ stories and 30 years or older (25 years and up if near the coast). That inspection, conducted in September, rated the building in “good condition,” but flagged deterioration in a portion of the garage slab. While addressing that issue, workers discovered the more serious crack in a structural column, prompting an emergency response. “We have a compromised structure, a support beam of this magnitude,” said Javon Graham, Clearwater’s emergency management division chief. “You have to think about a possible collapse.” The scare highlights the delicate balance Florida lawmakers are working to meet, making sure condo owners are safe in their buildings, but can also financially afford to stay there. In the aftermath of the 2021 Surfside condo collapse that killed 98 people, Florida enacted sweeping changes to condo safety regulations. Aside from mandated inspections, condo associations are also required to maintain more robust financial reserves for future repairs and maintenance. Though over the past couple years, the changes have caused steep cost increases for condo owners and associations looking to make up ground for unfunded reserves and/or crucial repairs. “We have seen sudden, high-cost fee assessments that have been imposed on condo owners,” noted Governor Ron DeSantis in calls for an update to the law earlier this year.