Brickell resident says they’re still in the dark after viral crane collapse

At New Times, we strive to meet the needs of our community, to answer your burning questions, and, whenever possible, provide solutions to your local problems. That’s why, when Redditor nattilife had users asking how a crane ended up on a Brickell high-rise pool, we couldn’t resist.

Despite nearly a week having passed since a massive crane collapsed onto a fortuitously empty high-rise pool, a resident of the Brickell building, One Plaza West, tells New Times staff that authorities have provided little information about the near-catastrophe.

Toronto-born software consultant Liam Stojanovic says the only message residents like him have seen from staff was a flier posted on a door in the building stating that a construction crew was working to remove a crane from the pool. And while the collapse has left residents at the luxury condominiums without a pool and other amenities they pay for (which was the least of Stojanovic’s concerns), the lack of information in the aftermath is what’s most troubling, he told New Times.

According to Miami-Dade County land appraisal records, the crane was on a construction site owned by Westbri School Development LLC (a company without any publicly listed contact information). Miami Fire Rescue Lt. Pet Sanchez told The Miami Herald, the crane experienced “some kind of failure.”

Stojanovic, whose apartment’s back door opens directly onto the pool area, says that is the extent of the information residents have gotten. His post about it on r/Miami gained dozens of comments both contemplating the cause and joking about the new luxury amenity, which is a take Stojanovic says he can appreciate only because no one was in the pool area when it happened.

“The place where the crane fell could easily have been a spot someone would have been,” he told New Times on a video call. “The chance of someone being there was very much not trivial, and like, that’s the kind of disturbing thing about this. On one hand, I do want to, you know, trivialize and kind of come at this from a comedic angle. But on the other hand, like, this could have been really horrific.

“It could have been a catastrophe.”

Miami’s building department has been working with “all involved parties” since the collapse on Aug. 7, a city spokesperson told New Times via email.

Stojanovic said the collapse happened sometime after 4 p.m. Aug. 7 (a Friday), so it’s fortunate no one was using the pool at the time. Noting he wasn’t actually there for the collapse, Stojanovic learned a few details about the investigation (like the approximate time of the collapse) from first responders on scene.

He was coming home from running errands when Stojanovic passed firefighters in his building, but, as he was on the phone, he didn’t think much of it until he noticed part of a crane on his poolside patio.

“And upon entry, the presence of the crane certainly struck me as peculiar, but because I was preoccupied, I didn’t think too much of it, at least immediately. And so at first I thought that it was some sort of construction that had just begun,” Stojanovic said.

The peculiarity of the crane and firefighters led him outside, where he found two helicopters hovering overhead and revealed the full view of a collapsed crane — straight out of a Marvel movie.

“It felt pretty surreal,” he said.

But after his short conversation with what he suspected were city staff along with first responders, “for my awareness, there’s just been silence on both the part of the construction company, and the ownership of my apartment regarding what happened,” he said.

But the questionable decisions didn’t stop there, Stonjaniovic said, because authorities decided to leave the crane in place over the weekend before building staff on Monday posted a paper notice on doors of the building reading, “Please be advised that the construction company next door will be working after hours to disassemble and remove a portion of the crane boom currently located at one plus a pool deck.”

“No explanation. Just like, hey, we’re cleaning this thing up,” Stojanovic said. “So, you know, new phobia.”

According to a statement from the city, the “remaining portion of the crane boom and tower has been assessed as not posing a danger to the building and is expected to be removed by the end of the day tomorrow.

“The city will continue coordinating with the appropriate parties and monitoring the situation to ensure the remaining work is carried out safely.”