Residents displaced; apartment complex building condemned after retaining wall gives way

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Roughly 50 people are out of their homes after an apartment building was deemed unsafe. It happened at the Oaks at Normandy apartment complex Tuesday night after the retaining wall around a retention pond gave way and exposed the foundation to one of the buildings.

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Local agencies worked to help impacted residents. The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department, Jacksonville Transportation Authority and Emergency Preparedness Division spent hours figuring out how to help them.

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Of the 50 total people displaced, JFRD, EPD, JTA and the American Red Cross helped bus 24 people and two pets to the Legends Center overnight who had no resources whatsoever.

“Crews got called, people said the building was moving, they heard bricks falling,” Captain Eric Prosswimmer with JFRD said. “We bussed almost 25 people last night and two pets to the Legends Center and put them up for the night.”

ORIGINAL STORY: Ground appears to be collapsing around apartment building in Normandy

It’s too early to determine a cause and needs further investigation, but Captain Prosswimmer said the wall sloughed off, gave way and a lot of the dirt slid down, exposing the foundation to the apartment building.

On Wednesday, JTA drove about 18 people, including kids, to a local hotel as the property management secured temporary housing for residents. Action News Jax was told other residents opted to stay with family or friends.

The property has been condemned and city officials said partnering agencies are helping residents get their belongings, Action News Jax spoke with the property management who’s providing temporary housing.

“We have all the residents moved to another place last night, we have hotels now for them, we provided money for food. The Red Cross is here, the fire department is here, the city of Jacksonville is here, everybody in the city is doing everything they can to make sure these folks have what they need,” Mike Boone with LVL said.

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City officials said JFRD made arrangements for those with medical/medical supply needs and JTA is also helping with transportation. Captain Prosswimmer called it a team effort.

“We are really, really blessed in this city we work so well with all these agencies, from JSO, city code enforcement to Red Cross, it’s a great effort,” he said.

A city spokesperson also told Action News Jax a structural engineer is assessing the integrity of the building and assisting residents with the safe retrieval of their belongings. Permanent housing and relocations are being coordinated through the property owner as well.

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