AWARD OF EXCELLENCE: Longevity Category

2100 TOWERS CONDOMINIUM RESTORATION

Cocoa Beach, Florida

Submitted by Cathodic Protection Technology

2100 Towers is a 14-story oceanfront condominium, roughly 35 years old, built of conventionally reinforced concrete. The condominium had gone through at least two major restoration cycles before 1997. 2100 Towers is no different than any other condominium up and down the coast of Florida. The coastal environment is harsh—full of salt, moisture, wave action, and humidity. If not properly waterproofed, coated, and maintained on an annual basis, structures exposed to this environment will begin to have concrete deterioration issues.

After going through multiple restoration cycles and the noise and disruption that come with them, 2100 Towers was very motivated to find a solution that would stop the vicious restoration cycles costing millions of dollars every 5 years. The Board of Directors (BOD) in 1997 voted to hire an engineer to survey the damage and make recommendations for lasting repairs.

The two options that were considered were impressed current cathodic protection (ICCP) and sacrificial zinc. After weighing the merits of these two solutions, the BOD elected to implement the ICCP system on the eastern third of the building as a test to see if the solution would really work.

In the end, the ICCP system was applied to 40,000 ft2
(3,716 m2) of cantilevered balconies. The total restoration and installation of the ICCP system was roughly $1.7 million dollars. To date, other than routine maintenance, waterproofing, and re-application of wear coat, 2100 Towers has not had to spend any additional dollars on concrete repairs due to corrosion of reinforcing steel.

Owner
2100 Towers
Cocoa Beach, Florida

Project Engineer/
Designer
Ben Mills & Associates
Palm Bay, Florida

Repair Contractor
Chematics of the South, Inc.
Cocoa Beach, Florida

Material Suppliers/
Manufacturers
Cathodic Protection Technology
Cocoa Beach, Florida

Matcor, Inc.
Doylestown, Pennsylvania