Voluntary evacuations of collapsed condo tower’s ‘sister building’ have begun, mayor says
No mandatory evacuations of buildings close to the South Champlain Tower, including of the North Tower, have been ordered, said Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett Saturday night.
Residents have been given the option to relocate if they wish, and FEMA funds will be allocated toward that effort. It was not immediately clear how resident would be able to access those funds.
“There seems to be a consensus that we don’t want to make anybody do anything,” Burkett told the Miami Herald. “What we want to do is give them options and make them feel safe. And keep them safe.”
Burkett said the city “will talk to the condo board and make them aware of our concerns.”
Earlier in the day, Florida Gov. on DeSantis said people who live in the ”sister building” of the partially collapsed condo tower in Surfside might be temporarily evacuated out of an abundance of caution.
“It was built at the same time with the same designer, so they are looking at working with them, and I know they are considering potentially evacuating them, but that’s something that ultimately the mayor is going to have to make the call on,” DeSantis said.
“I don’t know if there’s indications that there’s any problems with that building, but just given the similarities, given the same age, they think that that may be something,” he added.
The collapsed Champlain Towers South Condo at 8777 Collins Ave., just north of Miami Beach, was built in 1981 by a group of developers, Champlain Towers South Associates, that included the late philanthropist Nathan Reiber.
About a block away to the north is its slightly smaller sister building, Champlain Towers North Condo, which was built at the same time and is also 12 stories tall.
Eli Budwick, the president of the North Tower’s condo association, has told the building’s manager to hire an engineer to inspect and double-check the building’s safety, according to WSVN.
Miami Herald staff writers Marie-Rose Sheinerman and Carli Teproff contributed to this report.
This story was originally published June 26, 2021 at 3:29 PM.
