Surfside official’s dismissal of land swap for memorial as ‘delusional’ draws fire from judge
The Miami-Dade judge handling a slew of lawsuits involved in the collapse of Champlain Towers South on Friday scolded a Surfside politician for her dismissal of a land-swap proposal as “delusional.“
Circuit Judge Michael Hanzman said he could appreciate the town’s official opposition to the proposal — which envisioned swapping land between the town’s community center and the site of a condo tower collapse to make way for a victims’ memorial and a new oceanfront luxury condo project.
But without mentioning her by name, Hanzman described Commissioner Eliana Salzhauer’s emailed comment dismissing the proposal, which was quoted in a recent Miami Herald story, as “unbecoming a public official.” He called the word choice of Salzhauer, who was not in the courtroom, “uninformed and incendiary.”
Hanzman also praised the Champlain Towers South victim who came up with the proposal.
“I thought the idea of a land swap was creative — a win-win,” Hanzman said at a regular court hearing on a class-action case against the former building’s condominium association. “There was nothing delusional about this victim’s proposal. It was creative and out-of-the-box thinking.’
In a letter submitted to the condo association’s receiver, Surfside’s town manager said there were both major legal and practical obstacles to swapping land where the existing community center sits for the site of the condo tower collapse. The rejection was expected and town manager Andrew Hyatt said there was “no support for the land swap” from Surfside’s mayor and commission.
“While we appreciate the residents’ creativity, recognize the difficult circumstances they find themselves in, and respect your role in vetting this and all proposals, the town will not entertain it,” Hyatt wrote in the Sept. 9 letter to receiver Michael Goldberg.
Goldberg shared the information Friday with the judge, who said he respected the town’s decision.
Last week, the judge overseeing the fate of the Champlain Towers South property said he would consider the land-swap proposal to facilitate the creation of the on-site memorial to victims of the June 24 condo collapse — but only if the town of Surfside agreed to relocate the existing community center to make way for the new luxury condo tower.
The idea, which would see a new community center built alongside the memorial, had the support of some of the family members who lost loved ones in the collapse.
While the town’s politicians generally opposed the idea, Salzhauer had called it “delusional” to consider tearing down the town’s civic center, which was rebuilt in 2011 after the town tore down the original 1962 building.
“A land swap for our community’s most precious resource — our residents’ cherished Surfside Community Center is NEVER happening. NEVER,” Commissioner Eliana Salzhauer wrote in an email to town staff last week.
Another commissioner expressed a similar, though more tempered, sentiment.
“Our town-owned property is not for sale,” Commissioner Nelly Velasquez said in a statement. She noted that in last November’s election, voters passed a charter amendment requiring that any sale or exchange of town-owned land first be approved by four commissioners and at least 60% of voters in a referendum.
Vice Mayor Tina Paul said she was also against the swap.
Initially, Hanzman had supported building the memorial off-site at a nearby Miami Beach park in order to sell the condo collapse property for the highest price — there is currently a bid of $120 million — to compensate victims’ families and survivors. The former 12-story tower had 136 condo units. A total of 98 residents died in the building’s partial collapse in June.
Manny Kadre, a businessman who has volunteered to work with local governments on a future memorial, said that the land-swap proposal was brought up in a meeting with survivors and loved ones of those who died in the collapse.
On Friday, Carlos Weinberg told the judge that he thought the “land swap was a good idea.”
“I don’t feel the town is looking out for our best interests,” Weinberg, who lost a few family members in the condo collapse, told Hanzman. “Not only did they dismiss it right away and called us delusional, which is obviously inappropriate, but to be honest they didn’t entertain the idea.
“The reality is, there are many positive things that could come up in a land swap.”
