Surfside collapse victims’ families slam Miami for plans to build luxury skyscraper on collapse site

The families of those who died in the condo collapse in Surfside, near Miami, have spoken out against plans for a luxury skyscraper to be built on the collapse site.

Within the design plans, it can be seen that the trash bay for the new luxury real estate project would be located right next to a memorial park for the 98 people who lost their lives.

Families have labelled this decision as “disrespectful” to those who lost their lives over two years ago, to place a memorial park right by the trash.

The memorial park, which the developer has promised to build, will not be finished until the whole skyscraper is constructed, the Washington Post reported.

Champlain Towers South, located on the beachfront of 88th Street partially collapsed on 24 June 2021, killing 98 people.

It is thought that slowly over time, the concrete reinforcements of the building were possibly being corroded by the water. Other investigations found “severe strength deficiency” to the structure, reports WPLG.

Despite the collapse, DAMAC International, a Dubai-based developer has drawn up plans to build upon the site where tragedy struck only two years ago. The new skyscraper will include 57 condos and two pools.

So far, DAMAC has only built properties mostly in Dubai, but some also in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

In an almost six-hour special commission meeting at the Surfside Town Hall on Wednesday, families, the Surfside community and local politicians got into a heated debate surrounding the issue of the memorial being next to the trash bay.

"The trash is still being collected on the corner of 88th Street and the loading dock is still 20, 30, I don’t know what exact per cent of 88th Street, but it doesn’t matter if they keep shifting it, it’s still on 88th street," said Miami Martin Langesfeld, who lost his sister Nicole Langesfeld and brother-in-law Luis Sadovnic in the collapse. "It needs to be completely moved off to Collins Avenue, just like the building next door."

“Having the trash go here, whether you’re pushing it back a few feet or not, that’s still having trash hooks exactly where our family was killed,” said Langesfeld during the meeting.

During the debate, other relatives and friends of the victims had only three minutes to state why they were against the location of the trash loading dock.

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Tensions rose when a heated debate broke out between Mayor Schlomo Dazinger and Comissioner Nelly Velasquez over divides between the two sides.

Two residents also had to be escorted out for causing disruption in the meeting, with one making a hand gesture towards the mayor.

East Oceanside Development, LLC, associated with DAMAC, bought the property for $120 million a year after 98 people tragically lost their lives in their homes.

In the end, Surfside commissioners voted 3-2 to approve the skyscraper plan, but with certain conditions. Mayor Dazinger voted yes, while Commissioner Velasquez voted no.

One of the conditions included moving the trash loading site to the southwest corner of Collins Avenue.

Yet, the Florida Department of Transportation will also have to approve this condition, and if they deem, as the DAMAC developer cited, it to be too dangerous on the new corner then it will return to the original plan back to near the memorial park.