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The legacy of the Surfside collapse
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+ By
Marisa Peñaloza
,
Debbie Elliott
Andrea (left), Pablo (center), and Martin Langesfeld (right) hold a photograph of their daughter and sister, Nicky Langesfeld and her husband Luis Sadovnic, at a park in Doral, Fla., where the city named a street Nicky Langesfeld Place to honor her memory, Martin says, "as a reminder that she'll be here with us forever." Nicole "Nicky" and Luis were two of the 98 people killed when the Champlain Towers South condominium building collapsed in Surfside on June 24, 2021.
− Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Embedded Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics The legacy of the Surfside collapse It's been nearly five years since a beachfront condominium collapsed in Surfside, Florida, killing 98 people.
+ Meredith Nierman/NPR hide caption
SURFSIDE, Fla.
− The tragedy raised questions about how the state regulates structural safety. National The legacy of the Surfside collapse June 21, 20265:13 PM ET Heard on All Things Considered Debbie Elliott The legacy of the Surfside collapse Listen · 7:51 7:51 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5791638/nx-s1-9818952" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript It's been nearly five years since a beachfront condominium collapsed in Surfside, Florida, killing 98 people. The tragedy raised questions about how the state regulates structural safety. Sponsor Message
PIEN HUANG, HOST:
It's ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News, I'm Pien Huang. It's been five years since a beachfront condominium collapsed in Surfside, Florida, killing 98 people and displacing hundreds of residents. The disaster prompted tough questions about building safety and oversight in Florida. NPR's Debbie Elliott reports.
+ — Just around the corner from where a beachfront condominium collapsed five years ago, there's a makeshift memorial: a plastic banner strung up on a wood frame, with the names of the 98 victims, ranging in age from a year-old infant to a 92-year-old grandmother.
− (SOUNDBITE OF BIRDS CHIRPING)
DEBBIE ELLIOTT, BYLINE: Just around the corner from where the Champlain Towers South building collapsed five years ago, there's a makeshift memorial to those killed - a banner strung up on a wood frame with the names of all 98 victims, ranging in age from a year-old infant to a 92-year-old grandmother.
MARTIN LANGESFELD: It's an unfortunate reminder of how big this tragedy was.
+ "It's an unfortunate reminder of how big this tragedy was," says Martin Langesfeld, locating the name of his sister Nicky, 26, and her husband Luis Sadovnik, 28.
− And it's more than just names.
+ "It's more than just names.
− It's families.
+ It's families."
Two-thirds of the 12-story Champlain Towers South building collapsed just after 1 a.m.
− My name is Martin Langesfeld. I lost my sister, Nicky Langesfeld, in the Surfside building collapse, and her husband, Luis Sadovnic.
ELLIOTT: Two-thirds of the 12-story beachfront condo collapsed just after 1 a.m.
− It started when the pool deck caved in, and seven minutes later, the tower began to fall.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER: Is anybody there?
+ It started when the pool deck caved in.
− Is anybody there? Police.
+ Seven minutes later, as many of the occupants were sleeping, the tower began to fall.
− ELLIOTT: Many of the occupants were sleeping at the time, but the security guard didn't sound the alarm.
+ Five escaped, and three were rescued from the rubble with severe injuries by first responders.
− Four people and the guard escaped. Three others were dramatically rescued from the rubble. Search crews then evacuated the residents in the part of the condo left standing.
+ Search teams evacuated residents in the remaining part of the building, which was demolished 10 days later for safety reasons.
− Since the collapse, Martin Langesfeld has become an activist, pushing to improve what he sees as a lax system of building oversight.
+ Search and rescue personnel work in the rubble of the 12-story, beachfront Champlain Towers South condominium that crumbled to the ground on June 24, 2021 in Surfside.
− He locates his sister's name on the temporary memorial.
+ Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption
Hundreds were left without a home and belongings, and the state was forced to grapple with how it regulates structural safety.
− LANGESFELD: Here's Nicky, 26 years old, and her husband Louis, 28 years old.
+ Langesfeld is among those who've been pushing to improve what they consider a lax system of building oversight.
− They got married just a few months prior to the collapse, and she moved in with him. A dream place - home where you feel you're safest, is where they were killed.
+ His sister and brother-in-law were newlyweds, who had moved into the condo together just a few months earlier.
− ELLIOTT: Langesfeld is frustrated that there's no permanent memorial honoring the victims. Yet, a new luxury condo is going up on the land where Champlain Towers once stood.
+ "A dream place, home, where you feel you're safest is where they were killed," he says.
− LANGESFELD: It's been almost five years, and there's no development for the memorial, and the development for the new building is very well underway.
+ He's also frustrated there is no permanent memorial honoring the victims, while a new luxury condo is going up on the land where Champlain Towers once stood.
− ELLIOTT: Langesfeld says the new construction should wait until there's a final report from federal investigators looking into the cause of the collapse.
+ "It's been almost five years and there's no development for the memorial," he says.
− Preliminary findings point to a failure that started in the pool deck slab due to poor construction and oversight.
+ "And the development for the new building is very well underway."
The North Tower of the Champlain Towers condominium complex stands on April 27, overlooking the vacant site where its sister building, Champlain Towers South, collapsed on June 24, 2021.
− To date, no one has been held criminally responsible.
+ The collapse resulted in 98 deaths and remains one of the largest structural failures in U.S.
− But in a complex civil lawsuit, more than 30 defendants contributed to a $1.2 billion class action settlement reached just a year after the collapse.
+ history.
− It addresses wrongful death, personal injury and property loss claims.
+ A new luxury condominium complex, the Delmore, is slated for construction on the empty lot.
− That was a significant achievement, says Coral Gables attorney Rachel Wagner Furst, co-lead counsel representing the Surfside victims.
+ Meredith Nierman/NPR hide caption
Technical findings released Monday by the National Institute of Standards and Technology concluded the problem started about three weeks before the collapse when two connections between garage columns and the pool deck failed, causing cracks to grow and loads to shift to connections that were not strong enough to support them.
− RACHEL WAGNER FURST: I think what was apparent to all parties, legal parties, is that it was an enormous loss, enormous loss.
+ Investigators found "severe and widespread deviations in the building's original structural design from the codes and standards of the day," and that the building's construction in 1981 deviated from the design drawings. Investigators will issue a final report later that includes recommendations for changes to standards, codes and practices to improve building safety.
− ELLIOTT: None of the settling parties admitted wrongdoing, but Wagner Furst says the litigation pointed to many factors contributing to the scope of the disaster beyond the initial lawsuit that singled out the condo board for deferring repairs on the 40-year-old building.
+ To date, no one has been held criminally responsible.
− WAGNER FURST: Companies and individuals who had serviced the Champlain Towers South condominium building in the years before the collapse that had arguably or allegedly failed in some way to provide proper maintenance advice or counsel on repairs, including the security company that had staffed the front desk of the building and was on duty at the time that the alarm ought to have sounded.
+ But in a complex civil lawsuit, more than 30 defendants contributed to a $1.2 billion class action settlement reached just a year after the collapse to address wrongful death, personal injury and property loss claims.
− ELLIOTT: The Surfside collapse was a wake-up call for condo associations and regulators around the country.
+ "I think what was apparent to all parties, legal parties, is that it was an enormous loss," says Coral Gables attorney Rachel Wagner Furst, co-lead counsel representing the Surfside victims.
National One year after Surfside condo collapse in Florida, a legal settlement is approved None of the settling parties admitted liability or wrongdoing, but Wagner Furst says the litigation pointed to many factors that contributed to the scope of the disaster beyond the condo board, which was singled out in the initial lawsuit for not heeding warning signs and deferring repairs on the 40-year-old building.
She notes, "Companies and individuals who had serviced the Champlain Towers South condominium building in the years before the collapse that had arguably or allegedly failed in some way to provide proper maintenance advice or counsel, including the security company that had staffed the front desk of the building and was on duty at the time that the alarm ought to have sounded."
Attorney Rachel Wagner Furst served as co-lead counsel for the plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit for the victims of the Champlain Towers South collapse in Surfside, which resulted in a $1.2 billion settlement.
+ Meredith Nierman/NPR hide caption
The Surfside collapse was a wake-up call for condo associations and regulators around the country.
−
+
− DONNA DIMAGGIO BERGER: The Florida legislature pushed the burden to create safe housing stock in Florida onto the people who are least able to bear it, which is the Florida consumer.
ELLIOTT: Fort Lauderdale attorney Donna DiMaggio Berger specializes in condominium law.
+ "The Florida legislature pushed the burden to create safe housing stock in Florida onto the people who are least able to bear it, which is the Florida consumer," says Ft.
− She says developers should also share in the burden.
+ Lauderdale attorney Donna DiMaggio Berger who specializes in condominium law, and founded a group that lobbies on behalf of the more than 50,000 community associations in Florida.
− DIMAGGIO BERGER: If we wind up with the safest housing stock in the country, bravo, well done.
+ She says developers also should share in the burden.
"If we wind up with the safest housing stock in the country.
− But at the same time the Florida legislature was saying you need to have periodic engineering, mandatory reserves, they were also entertaining legislation to reduce statutes of limitation to pursue developers and contractors for defective construction.
+ Bravo, well done," she says.
− Safe buildings start with the people who build them and repair them.
+ But "safe buildings start with the people who build them and repair them."
Construction cranes line the skyline along the beach in Surfside, Fla., on April 27. Meredith Nierman/NPR hide caption
No matter how well-intentioned, the building reforms could have unintended consequences, says Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.
− ELLIOTT: No matter how well-intentioned, the building reforms could have unintended consequences, says Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.
+ She says some buildings have been taken over by people who want to turn them into more expensive, luxurious developments.
− DANIELLA LEVINE CAVA: A lot of buildings have now been taken over by people who want to redo them and make them more expensive, luxurious homes.
+ "There's tremendous pressure that people can't afford these things and so they're forced to sell," she says.
− So there's tremendous pressure. People can't afford these things, and so they're forced to sell.
+ "We call it 'condo vultures,' and it is at our peril."
Levine Cava says she understands that people want to live "the good life" in South Florida, but there must be balance.
− ELLIOTT: There's a name for it.
LEVINE CAVA: We call it condo vultures, and it is at our peril.
+ "We know we live in paradise," she says.
− We're grateful that people want to live the good life here.
+ "We also know that we need to have people of all means in our community."
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava says her community was severely changed by this tragedy, "the pain is still very real.
− We know we live in paradise.
+ Many people have moved on with their lives and others are still suffering greatly." Meredith Nierman/NPR hide caption
That's long been the conundrum in Florida, a trend that accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic when people flocked to the Sunshine State.
And it's evident in Surfside, just north of Miami Beach, which is becoming an ultra-wealthy enclave with a wall of condos lining the Atlantic, and more under construction.
− We also know that we need to have people of all means in our community.
+ The area is adjacent to swanky shopping malls and private islands where tech titans have waterfront estates.
− ELLIOTT: That's long been the conundrum in Florida, and it's evident here in Surfside, just north of Miami Beach.
(SOUNDBITE OF CARS PASSING)
ELLIOTT: It's becoming a wealthy enclave, with a wall of condos lining the Atlantic and more under construction.
+ National After the Surfside collapse, Florida is seeing a new condo boom The Champlain Towers South property itself is soon to be home to the community's latest luxury development, The Delmore.
− The Champlain Towers South property itself is soon to be home to the latest luxury development, The Delmore, billed as expansive mansions in the sky, with units starting at $15 million. Developer Jeffery Rossely shows the layout on a scale model in a posh sales gallery.
+ Billed as "expansive mansions in the sky," the sales price of the units starts at $15 million; penthouses go for more than $150 million.
− JEFFERY ROSSELY: Each penthouse has its own private pool, gets the view of the ocean.
+ "Each penthouse has its own private pool, and that's a glass-fronted pool that gets the view to the ocean," says developer Jeffery Rossely, pointing to the layout on a scale model in a posh sales gallery.
− ELLIOTT: So how many penthouses?
ROSSELY: Two with pools.
ELLIOTT: He's with DAMAC Properties, a Dubai-based firm.
+ Jeffery Rossely, a developer at the Dubai-based firm Damac Properties, points to a model of a luxury property called The Delmore.
+ Marisa Peñaloza/NPR hide caption
Rossely is with Damac Properties, a Dubai-based firm.
−
ROSSELY: It was obviously a tragic opportunity, but the courts had already ordered the sale of the property.
− The money was required to compensate the victims.
+ Damac was the only bidder with a $120 million cash offer for the property.
− ELLIOTT: DAMAC was the only bidder, with a $120 million cash offer, but the project has not received a warm welcome in Surfside.
+ "It was obviously at the time a tragic opportunity, but the courts had already ordered sale of the property," Rossely says.
− Rossely says they didn't expect the hostility.
+ "The money was required to compensate the victims."
But the project has not received a warm welcome in Surfside.
− At town meetings, they were accused of having blood on their hands. In retrospect, Rossely says, this project needed a different approach.
+ At town meetings he says his company has been accused of having blood on its hands.
− ROSSELY: We should have spent a bit more time on due diligence on community reaction rather than on the physical property itself.
+ A sign welcoming visitors to Surfside, Fla., stands directly across the street from the former site of the Champlain Towers South condominium.
− We went through what I would call the traditional due diligence.
+ Today, a new luxury residential development called The Delmore is under construction on the empty lot where the tower once stood.
− Maybe we should have gone through emotional due diligence as well.
+ Meredith Nierman/NPR hide caption
"I didn't understand why there would be angst for someone coming in and paying that money upfront," says Rossely.
− ELLIOTT: The question now is whether people will want to live here.
+ But in retrospect, he concedes, the project needed a different approach.
"We should have spent a bit more time on due diligence, on community reaction, rather than on the physical property itself," Rossely says.
− There are no buyers yet in the presale phase.
+ "We went through what I would call the traditional due diligence.
− Meanwhile, a remembrance ceremony for the 98 people killed in the collapse will be held just outside the project's fence on Wednesday.
+ Maybe we should have gone through emotional due diligence, as well."
The question now is whether people will want to live in the new building.
− Debbie Elliott, NPR News, Surfside, Florida.
+ There are no buyers yet in the pre-sale phase.
Meanwhile, the town of Surfside will light a torch at 1:15 a.m.
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+ on Wednesday, just outside the development's fence, to remember the Champlain Towers South victims five years after the collapse.
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