Furious families of the victims of the Surfside apartment collapse have rejected plans for a swanky new skyscraper on the site where 98 people died.
The design for the 45-unit luxury condo in Champlain Towers South proposes collecting the building’s trash at the entrance to a memorial park.
Relatives branded the proposal as “insulting” to those who died in the horrific tragedy two years ago, saying it minimizes how the deceased would be honoured.
Trucks will drive over the scene of the tragedy and rubbish will be collected nearby, they warned.
The proposed development, with 57 apartments and two swimming pools, was announced despite the exact cause of the collapse not yet being determined.
The memorial park, which the developer has promised to build, won’t be finished until the apartment project is built. the Washington Post reported.
Victims’ relatives denounce plans for a swanky oceanfront skyscraper on the site where 98 people died in the sudden building collapse in Florida two years ago
DAMAC International released two renderings of the possible design in June, when the exact cause of the collapse had not yet been determined
Families called the proposal “insulting” to those who died in the horrific tragedy, saying it minimizes the way the deceased is honored. People attended a vigil (pictured) in June 2021 to honor the residents of a partially collapsed residential building
“We have nothing at the site of the collapse, and we don’t know what we’re going to get on 88th Street because they keep cutting it down for the benefit of the developer,” said Martin Langesfeld, whose sister and brother-in-law, Nicole Langesfeld and Luis Sadovnic, were killed at the collapse.
Families of the victims and former commissioners are vehemently opposing the draft, which the city commission now appears poised to approve.
The debate centers around a block of 88th Street near the collapse site at 8777 Collins Avenue.
The former city commission last year called for traffic restrictions for a memorial park and pedestrian plaza.
“I was desperate to protect the families because, you know, my friends died there,” said former city commissioner Eliana Salzhauer. “Everyone knew someone who died there.”
But the board is now ready to allow DAMAC International, a Dubai-based developer, to install a loading dock entrance on 88th Street and reclaim the area.
Opponents suggested collusion. A widely shared bar photo shows Caroline Baumel, chair of the Planning and Zoning Board, smiling as she sits on the laps of Vice Mayor Jeffrey Rose and David Forbes, another board member.
Baumel and Forbes said the claims are disgusting, adding that they only met casually for drinks.
“At no point did any of us discuss anything about this agenda, past agendas or future agendas,” Forbes said angrily at last month’s board meeting.
Former Commissioner Salzhauer got into a heated debate with Mayor Shlomo Danzinger this month.
“Do you want me to give feedback on a presentation that hasn’t happened yet?” she asked. ‘You call yourselves representatives of the people. You serve yourself.”
“They keep cutting it down to benefit the developer,” said Martin Langesfeld (pictured), whose sister and brother-in-law, Nicole Langesfeld and Luis Sadovnic, died in the collapse.
The exact cause of the collapse has still not been determined after two years
It stems from a structural engineer’s concerns that the pool deck may have collapsed first, bringing down the rest of the building.
Florida transportation officials said they have not issued any guidance on construction.
“We’re essentially in a blind corner,” said Jeffery Rossely, DAMAC’s senior vice president for concepts and design. But he claims the company is following state guidelines.
East Oceanside Development, LLC, affiliated with DAMAC, purchased the property after the tragic collapse for $120 million per year.
DAMAC argues that if large moving trucks use a loading dock on Collins Avenue, as critics oppose, it could pose a traffic hazard due to the sharp angle of the state highway at the location.
“It’s a difficult issue because there is an emotional aspect to it,” Surfside Mayor Danzinger said ABC news in June when the developer released two possible designs for the property.
He added that the city “cannot deny a plan unless there is a legal reason to do so.”