The Town of Surfside commission voted 3-2 on Sept. 27 to allow a Dubai developer to build luxury condominiums on the site where 98 people died in a building collapse June 24, 2021. The vote came at the end of a nearly six-hour meeting marred by screaming, infighting and police intervention.
DAMAC’s plan, which calls for a twelve-story building with up to 52 units and an underground parking garage, will be built adjacent to a site designated for a memorial to honor the victims of Champlain Towers South.
Family members of the deceased organized a rally before the September special meeting to protest certain details of the plan, particularly that a loading dock and garbage-pick up site would be placed directly next to the memorial on 88th Street. They also spoke during the public comment period, joined by supporters who read letters written by other family members who could not be at the meeting.
(Zaha Hadid Architects)
A rendering shows the 52-unit luxury condominium development planned for 8777 Collins Avenue in Surfside.
“Being here fighting makes me remember the 18 days that I waited to find my little brother and my cousin,” said David Rodan, holding back tears. “I don’t want to come here anymore. I shouldn’t be fighting this fight.”
Town Infighting
The family’s calls for justice and respect were quickly overshadowed by yells and insults, however, beginning with when Mayor Shlomo Danzinger expelled a resident from the chambers after accusing him of sticking his middle finger to the commission from the audience. No one claimed to see the gesture except Danzinger and Vice Mayor Jeffrey Rose. The resident denied the accusation as he was escorted out by police.
(Samantha Morell for Biscayne Times)
Commissioner Marianne Meischeid holds up a presentation created by resident David Rodan, whose brother and cousin died in the Champlain Towers South collapse.
Chaos ensued when Commissioners Nelly Velasquez and Marianne Meischeid attempted to make a motion to allow the resident to stay. When Danzinger refused to entertain the motion, a screaming battle broke out and a recess was quickly called. Residents began to protest, calling Danzinger a “dictator.” The same label was thrown at Rose when he yelled at former Mayor Charles Burkett to “back up from the dais,” calling for police intervention after the latter approached to speak to Meischeid during recess.
Throughout the rest of the meeting, two more residents were kicked out and another recess was called following disruptions. A particularly heated argument broke out when it was revealed that the only person to speak in favor of the development was Vice Mayor Rose’s father, Randy Rose, who told families that they should’ve bought the site of the collapse themselves. A grieving mother broke out into tears.
(Samantha Morell for Biscayne Times)
A resident is escorted by police out of the Sept. 27, 2023, special commission meeting after being accused by Mayor Shlomo Danzinger of making obscene gestures.
FDOT Approval Needed
Residents largely supported the plan as long as the town agreed not to compromise on a resolution passed in 2022 by the previous commission that would have designated the entirety of 88th Street for the memorial.
In the end, Commissioner Fred Landsman made the motion to approve the plan under the following conditions: DAMAC must move the loading dock and garbage pick-up to the southwest portion of the site, to be accessed from Collins Avenue instead of 88th Street. The developer would also have to relocate its construction vehicles in the same manner to ensure that memorial development is not delayed.
(Samantha Morell for Biscayne Times)
Martin Langesfeld
Those restrictions satisfied Meischeid and Velasquez, although the latter would have also liked for DAMAC’s $1.5 million in-kind contribution to the memorial to be donated to the town directly.
The motion quickly lost the two commissioners’ support, however, as well as that of residents and families, when Landsman included within it that DAMAC can proceed with the plan as is if it does not get approval from Miami-Dade County and the Florida Department of Transportation for the desired relocations.
(Samantha Morell for Biscayne Times)
Commissioner Nelly Velasquez joined residents at a rally before the Sept. 27, 2023, special commission meeting.
Mayor Daniella Levine Cava has written to the town to express unwavering support for the memorial, but FDOT cannot opine on the developer’s plans until they are submitted officially to the state department.
“Why can’t we come back here again and have another meeting and listen to them once they’ve been able to go to FDOT and confirm whatever it is they had to say?” asked Velasquez.
Rose and Danzinger, on the other hand, said they did not want to revisit the issue for months to come. They joined Landsman by voting in favor of the motion.
Some residents called on the investigation into the collapse to be definitively completed before more condominiums are propped up in its place, worried that the ground itself is unstable. The National Institute of Standards issued in June a preliminary study identifying weaknesses in the previous building as likely causes, but said last month that its report will not be completed until 2025.
The Fight Continues
Residents have grown weary of DAMAC’s stake in their town since Danzinger’s undisclosed trip to meet with the developer in October 2022, which they see as the moment that plans began to go downhill. Now, with the commission’s approval, they feel that the developers will find a way to skirt the imposed conditions and proceed with their plan as it was presented last month.
In any case, families vow to continue fighting to correctly honor their loved ones.
“Behind me are faces I’ve never seen before,” said Martin Langesfeld, whose sister Nicole died in the collapse, during the rally. “This is going to grow and grow … It’s been 27 months. We’re not going anywhere.”