On Friday, water pooled in the large pit being excavated at 175 SE 25th Road, where developer OKO Group is building a bayfront condo project called UNA Residences. It was the second time in a month that water shot up through a hole in the ground at the site. Neighbors, worried about the new building’s structural safety and about groundwater seeping into Biscayne Bay, sent the city pictures and videos of water pooling after both incidents.

Crews are digging deep into the ground to build what will be the deepest and most expensive underground parking garage in the city of Miami, a 100,000-square-foot structure that will serve as a foundation for the high-end skyscraper.

Commissioner Ken Russell, whose district includes Brickell, told the Miami Herald on Tuesday that once the contractor plugs the hole where water is coming up from the water table, the city will issue a temporary stop work order to allow three independent experts hired by the city to inspect the site. During the pause, major work will stop, but crews will likely still be on site for other construction work, Russell said.

The commissioner said he recognized residents’ fears after seeing the flooding, particularly because it happened months after the collapse of a condo in Surfside. Russell emphasized that the builder has the proper permits and plans to construct the subterranean garage, and that he wants some outside opinions to allay neighbors’ concerns.

“This is not a pulling of the permit or a reversal of any decision on the engineering. It’s not even a high-alert red flag,” Russell said. “This is us taking precautionary measures. We want to give comfort to our residents. We want to put eyes on this that don’t belong to either us or the developer.”

City administrators are finalizing contracts to hire a soil engineer, structural engineer and an expert on seismic testing to measure whether vibrations from the construction have an impact on surrounding properties and streets.

The construction of underground parking garages and tunnels in South Florida, where the water table is high, involves an expensive process of creating a watertight concrete structure in the ground. Sometimes leaks can occur, and pressure shoots water up into the construction site.

“Sediment from construction sites can build up on the bay bottom, covering seagrass and blocking sunlight, essentially killing the vegetation, starving them of light and oxygen. It can also kill coral and disrupt the entire ecosystem,” Silverstein said.

“Our staff inspected the site over the weekend and did not document any issues affecting the environment,” Hefty wrote, adding DERM will continue to monitor the project site.