Beachfront San Diego apartment complex with condos listed for more than $1.1million faces complete COLLAPSE as desperate owners race to reinforce building against eroding cliffs - but city refuses to help

A San Diego condo complex with residences listed at over $1million are now in danger as the owners claim the property is threatened by coastal erosion.

Oceanus is a condo community located near Ocean Beach in San Diego County, with a property having recently sold for over $1.1 million, according to realtors. 

Russ Rasmussen, a resident of Oceanus, moved there in 2012 and already saw the bluff in front of the complex starting to wither. 

In the decade-plus since, the owners have built a seawall beneath the condos on one side but now the other side is facing the same issue, with warning signs proclaiming 'unstable cliffs'. 

'Our seawall is holding the bluff just fine, but the property next to our property, the city property at the end of Bermuda, is eroding to the tune of 60, 70 feet of dirt, of earth,' Rasmussen said. 

In the last few months, owners have been trying to solve the problem of erosion moving all the way to the edge of their street. 

Pat Abbott, a geologist, told NBC San Diego the problem is of weak rocks beneath the condos. 

'Which means it fails more just by gravity pulling it, more susceptible to waves beating it up,' he said.

However, the owners are now in a fight with city officials, who say that an assessment on the property showed no problems that the city is under obligation to fix..  

'After conducting a geotechnical investigation earlier this year, it was determined that the current coastal bluff erosion is affecting the undeveloped Bermuda Avenue Right of Way (ROW) and abandoned legacy public improvements but is not affecting any currently maintained public improvements,' the city said in a statement. 

'This condition is the responsibility of the private property owner and should be addressed by the property owner (Oceanus) through the retention of a geotechnical consultant (or other professional) to advise them regarding the hazard affecting their property and improvements, including the condominium structure,' they added.

The owners of Oceanus have begun looking for help by hiring private contractors to conduct a geologic survey.

The board of the HOA for Oceanus has solicited bids to build a new seawall that are in the price range of $600,000. 

Rasmussen hopes that the city will reverse course and help with any constructions.

The next step will be approval of the seawall by the California Coastal Commission. 

Rasmussen says that progress has not been good enough and if the city doesn't help, it's going to end in disaster. 

'Our building can't fall into the ocean,' Rasmussen said. 'I don't know what else to say except: Help.'