SURFSIDE, Fla. — As discussions continue about whether to sell the Champlain Towers South condo site to a developer or build a memorial, Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber is proposing to use part of the city’s North Beach Oceanside Park to honor the victims of the June 24 condo collapse in neighboring Surfside.
In a Thursday letter to Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Michael Hanzman, Gelber said he will propose during the city commission’s July 28 meeting to offer “an appropriate amount of acreage within the park to be dedicated to accommodating a memorial honoring the victims of the tragedy.”
The 28-acre park is located near the northern border of the city, about a few hundred feet from where the 12-story condo once stood.
Since the collapse more than three weeks ago, the park has become a command center for FEMA Urban Search and Rescue teams, whose members have slept in tents set up at the park. It is currently closed to the public.
“So many in my community knew or were one degree of separation from the victims of this unthinkable tragedy,” Gelber wrote. “While we have proudly supported the efforts at ground zero with our own police and fire rescue personnel, it would be our great honor to also help establish a dignified memorial that would appropriately honor the blessed memories of those who perished. Let us know if we can be of service.”
Gelber told the Miami Herald that he believes a majority of the commission has already looked to co-sponsor his legislation, although he has not spoken to them directly about it.
“I’m not presuming to know what the victims’ families would want but we did want to at least make the gesture,” he told the Herald.
Gelber noted in his letter that the park is currently undergoing a $12.8 million renovation. A $10.5 million contribution from the developers of the nearby Eighty Seven Park condo building will help fund the renovation. The payment was contingent on the city’s vacating of a 50-foot-wide public road in favor of the developer, Terra Group.
On Wednesday, Hanzman approved the planned sale of the oceanfront Champlain Towers South property, valued at more than $100 million, as well as the disbursement of millions more in insurance payments for property and personal damages. Hanzman also ruled out the possibility of converting the entire Champlain property to a memorial site because any potential sale for that purpose would not generate much money for the victims of the collapse.
The decision sparked almost immediate backlash from some family members of those who died in the collapse and Surfside elected officials.
Martin Langesfeld, whose sister Nicole Lagesfeld and brother-in-law Luis Sadovnic were killed in the collapse, told the Herald on Wednesday that it is “inhumane” to discuss building a new tower on the site while search teams continue finding human remains in the rubble. He wants there to be a memorial at the site.
“There’s still loved ones in there, there’s families in there still waiting for answers, there’s people unaccounted for,” he said. “During this time they’re already thinking of covering it up with another building.”
On Friday, Hanzman reversed course during another court hearing when presented with the possibility of a government purchase of the property.
The receiver for the Champlain Towers South condo association, attorney Michael Goldberg, told Hanzman that lobbyist Rodney Barreto and lawyer Manny Kadre are volunteering their services to help raise money from local, state or federal governments to buy the property at fair-market value to create a memorial to honor the victims of the collapse.
Goldberg said during the hearing, held as part of a class-action lawsuit filed by a survivor of the collapse, that there are many victims and survivors of the condo collapse who expressed a strong interest in building a memorial at the site. Hanzman said the proposition was “very good news.”
“All options are being explored,” Hanzman said. “No options are being removed from the table.”
Barreto later told the Herald that he has spoken with Gelber, Hanzman and Gov. Ron DeSantis about pursuing a government purchase of the land for a memorial site. He said there are a number of options that Hanzman can consider — including the construction of a memorial at the site, the development of a new condo project there along with a memorial or setting up a memorial at the site and another in Miami Beach.
“We need to do anything and everything we can do in our power to honor the victims and make sure they are fairly compensated,” Barreto said.
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