DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Channel 9 is asking Daytona Beach City leaders if they plan to close down the Seabreeze beach approach to cars after the landmark property connected to it was declared non-compliant.
On Tuesday, 9 Investigates reported that the Plaza Resort and Spa had been shut down since September 2022 after being badly damaged by Hurricane Ian.
Channel 9 also learned that the property’s owner collected 20 million dollars in insurance payments but hasn’t applied for any permits to make repairs to the building.
Channel 9 learned on Thursday that the owner does have an active permit for that tunnel.
But so far, the city has not been asked to do any inspections on work there, and because the rest of the building is considered unsafe, we want to know if people should still be driving and walking under this tunnel.
Residents can see large pieces of concrete that have fallen off the tunnel and exposed structural beams that look to be rusted all the way through.
The permit was issued May 4, 2026, and is active through the end of October. It allows the owner of the Plaza Resort and Spa to make repairs to the beach approach tunnel connected to the property. A city spokesperson said so far, the city has not been asked to do any inspections on the work there. We walked underneath and saw exposed and rusted rebar and cracked concrete.
The more than 100-year-old hotel and condo building has officially been declared non-compliant due to an extensive list of code violations and public health and safety concerns. But so far, there’s been no discussion about a possible closure to the beach approach.
On Tuesday, 9 investigates revealed a milestone inspection required by state law for condos over three stories after the 2021 Surfside collapse, should have been completed by the end of last year — but wasn’t.
The building has individual unit owners who tell us they’ve continued to pay HOA dues and assessment fees despite seeing no progress or repairs. Several owners shared emails with us giving the city of Daytona Beach full access to their individual units for an emergency inspection of the property.
We asked the city if any engineer has come out here to look at the tunnel and determine if it’s structurally safe, and they provided the following statement:
“The city’s chief building official will inspect the tunnel tomorrow. Based on his findings, the city may require the property owner to provide an inspection report confirming the tunnel is structurally sound. As a precaution, the city has also coordinated with the county and the Sheriff’s Office to close the beach approach if the inspection determines that a closure is necessary.”
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