Elevator restored at Parkwood Condominiums near Doral after weeks-long outage

Residents at a condominium building near Doral who spent weeks without elevator service finally received some relief Monday.

Miami-Dade County officials confirmed that an elevator at Parkwood Condominiums, located at 7240 Fontainebleau Blvd., has been repaired and returned to service after being out of operation for roughly five weeks.

Last week, CBS News Miami spoke with residents who described significant hardships caused by the outage. Many of those affected were elderly residents or people with disabilities living on the fourth and fifth floors of the building.

Several residents said they felt trapped in their homes because they were unable to safely navigate multiple flights of stairs.

Among them was Ronald Bedenis, who previously told CBS News Miami that his wife and several neighbors were struggling during the outage.

"My wife cannot go out," Bedenis said. "I have an 80-year-old woman who cannot go down the stairs. Another neighbor is 104 years old, and she is in a wheelchair."

Property management previously told CBS News Miami that the elevator's problems stemmed from a damaged hydraulic valve that required replacement.

On Monday, a Miami-Dade County spokesperson confirmed the repairs have been completed. The elevator subsequently passed a county inspection and has been cleared for use.

The repair marks a major improvement for residents who had been enduring South Florida's summer heat while climbing stairs or remaining largely confined to their units.

While the elevator at 7240 Fontainebleau Blvd. is now back in service, residents at other Parkwood condominium buildings have previously reported ongoing elevator issues. CBS News Miami will continue monitoring the status of those repairs.