Miami’s skyline is sinking unevenly, with potentially costly consequences for developers.
New research found that luxury high-rises in Miami-Dade County are not only sinking more than expected, but they’re also settling at uneven rates, leading to possible long-term structural damage and increased maintenance and insurance costs, the Miami Herald reported.
It’s normal for high-rises to settle after construction as their weight compresses the ground beneath them, the outlet said. But University of Miami professor Falk Amelung’s research, published in 2024, found that at least 35 buildings along Miami’s barrier islands — including the Porsche Design Tower, the Estates at Acqualina and several Trump Organization-branded buildings — are still sinking years after construction was completed.
At the time, city officials didn’t see a reason to sound the alarm bells, since building settlement can be managed and repaired.
But Amelung has added to his research, showing that buildings are sinking unevenly, in what is known as differential settlement.
Differential settlement causes buildings to tilt, which can lead to major structural issues, including cracked pipes and facades, uneven driveways and warped floors, the outlet said. That can rack up steep bills for developers, who are held legally responsible for construction defects during the first seven years after a building receives its earliest official certificate of occupancy or completion, according to Florida law.
The new research suggests development can cause neighboring buildings to settle. This, too, can run developers a pretty penny. In 2016, the Millennium Tower’s homeowners association sued the entire development team of the nearby Porsche Design Tower for nearly $4 million in repairs, claiming cracks throughout their building were caused by construction of the tower.
Experts warn this differential settlement should be taken seriously. They’re calling for more research into Miami’s subsurface geology and amendments to the building code to require long-term settlement monitoring. Some experts have also suggested that officials reexamine the current high-rise permitting process and consider implementing a moratorium on narrow high-rises.
—Grace McClung
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