Building permit records online show that the owner applied for an implosion permit in August 2017. That permit was denied because Miami Beach does not allow implosions, said Ana Salgueiro, the city's building director. Then the owner applied for a regular demolition permit, which was issued on April 18, 2018.
A permit corrections report online describes the demolition as "total demolition of multi-family residential structure by conventional methods. No longer using the implosion method."
Once a demolition permit is granted, construction crews can demolish the building whenever they're prepared to do so without notifying the building department, Salgueiro said. In a letter sent to residents in a nearby building on July 20, the owner of the site said that demolition of "certain interior components" of the Marlborough House building had already been completed and that demolition of the main structure and remaining components could begin as soon as 8 a.m. on Monday, July 23.
"Demolition will continue to occur through conventional methods pursuant to the demolition permit issued by the City of Miami Beach," Derrick Chin, the manager for property owner Miami Beach Associates LLC, said in the letter. "The work may take a couple of weeks to complete, and a portion of the building many remain until the work is completed."
