Residents denounce neglect, fire hazards, and poorly executed repairs in the building managed by Cimex.
14ymedio, Havana, July 4, 2026 — At Havana’s Focsa Building, one of the jewels of Cuban engineering, deterioration is no longer hidden behind the monumentality of its silhouette. One only has to walk through the nearly empty lobby, go down to the garage, or look into the service rooms to find crumbling ceilings, exposed reinforcing bars, accumulated garbage, walls stained by moisture, and common areas turned into dumping grounds. Tired of filing complaints without receiving a response, residents have decided to make public a denunciation aimed directly at the building’s administration, which is run by Empresa Inmobiliaria Cimex S.A.
The document, sent anonymously by residents “as a precaution,” describes a picture of ongoing neglect, poor management, and a lack of transparency in investments. The central question running through the complaint is simple: how is it possible that a property which, according to residents, collects more than one million dollars a year from renting commercial spaces and apartments claims it has no funds for basic repairs?
The contrast between the Focsa’s history and its current condition is difficult to ignore. Located on 17th Street between M and N in Vedado, the building was for decades a symbol of modernity and architectural ambition. At 121 meters (397 feet) tall and 36 stories high, it is one of Havana’s tallest buildings. Today, according to those filing the complaint, that image survives only on the exterior. “Neglect and abandonment are everywhere in the building,” they say, adding that for some time there have been “clear signs of corruption” among those managing the property.
The photographs sent by residents reinforce the most visible part of the complaint. In the garage, large sections of the ceiling have lost their protective covering, with pieces of concrete on the floor and exposed steel reinforcement, including above parking spaces where vehicles remain parked. An interior staircase shows cracks, open sections, and exposed reinforcing bars in heavily used areas. Other images show storage rooms filled with black garbage bags, cardboard, packaging debris, and accumulated trash left without order or cleaning.
In their complaint, residents say that “it is common to find pieces of the ceiling on the floor,” a sign of deterioration caused by prolonged lack of maintenance. They add that only three employees are responsible for maintaining the entire Focsa, a massive building with dozens of floors, commercial areas, garages, and internal services.
One of the most serious problems involves the elevators. According to the document, of the building’s seven elevators, only two operate regularly: one in the lobby and one service elevator. Residents say they must wait in endless lines to reach their apartments and that the situation becomes even worse during blackouts. During those outages, they say, several people have become trapped inside elevators because there was no fuel for the building’s backup generator.
The situation particularly affects elderly residents, children, and families living on the upper floors. Residents say that when an elevator stops between floors, those trapped must be rescued by security personnel, an operation that, according to them, endangers both those inside the elevator and those trying to help them. The complaint even proposes connecting the elevators to the building’s underground electrical system to prevent them from stopping during power outages.
Garbage is another major source of concern. The document says there are barely enough waste containers and that foul odors permeate several levels of the building. According to residents, garbage containers and piles of trash that had accumulated in the garden for months recently caught fire, and only the intervention of firefighters prevented the blaze from spreading. The photographs received by this newspaper show piles of waste in enclosed spaces near internal facilities, increasing concerns about both fire hazards and health risks.
Residents also raise another safety concern: according to them, many of the building’s fire extinguishers no longer work, and the old fire suppression system powered by water pumps is reportedly out of service. They also mention a lack of signage, poor lighting in hallways, common areas, and stairwells, as well as leaks in the garages.
Residents complain not only about neglect but also about poorly executed investments. One example they cite is the renovation of the lobby, completed more than five years ago. According to the complaint, two air conditioning units were installed but never used, an air curtain was installed but never worked, and a television broke without ever being put into service. PVC panels were also placed over the building’s original mirrors, while the furniture that was supposed to replace the old pieces never arrived. The result, they say, was “an enormous empty hall” lacking both aesthetics and functionality.
Another disputed project involved the garages. At the end of last year, residents say, the real estate company hired contractors to paint the entrance, install signage, and set up automatic barriers. But according to residents, the paper signs fell off “after two days,” the paint was of poor quality, and the electric barriers were improperly installed, damaged by the wind, and rendered useless during blackouts.
The third example concerns the supposed complete overhaul of the elevators. Residents say there was talk of a multimillion-dollar investment to replace the elevator cabins, cables, motors, control panels, rails, doors, and other components, but in the end only the cables and a few minor parts were replaced. The breakdowns, they say, continue. “Where did the money that was invested go?” they ask.
Management of the garages is also at the center of the complaints. According to residents, although the Focsa has enough capacity to accommodate the cars of those who live there, a considerable portion of the garage was converted into warehouse space by decision of the real estate company’s management. The complainants say that this measure has forced vehicles outside the building and into the covered driveway, blocking passageways, temporary stopping areas, and access routes that could be needed in an emergency. They also object to the separate fees charged for parking spaces to residents who need them, a practice they say has been imposed by the administration.
Residents are calling for a review of the real estate company’s accounting records to compare the investments reported with the work actually carried out in the building. They also insist that everything described in the complaint can be verified through an inspection of the property and interviews with its residents.
Beyond the specific responsibility of any individual manager, the Focsa once again presents a clear picture of today’s Cuba: emblematic buildings left to decay, opaque state administrations, repairs that fail to solve fundamental problems, and residents forced to live amid blackouts, garbage, falling concrete, and malfunctioning elevators. The jewel of Cuban engineering, its residents warn, is deteriorating in plain sight.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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