Simon Segal, a noted engineer, was living in a Champlain Towers penthouse when it collapsed
Simon Segal devoted his career to the science of engineering, the craft of construction and the business of building.
He died in the inexplicable collapse of his condominium. He lived on the top floor, in penthouse 1203 of Champlain Towers South in Surfside.
Segal, 80, a Havana native who immigrated to Miami in 1960, was an amiable lifelong bachelor affectionately known as “Simoncito,” according to his friend Isaac Osin.
Known as ‘Simoncito’
“He was a short fellow and everyone called him Simoncito,” Osin said. “He was a brilliant guy with a quick wit. He always had a joke or a smile. He was never mad at anybody. Everybody in that building knew Simoncito.”
Segal’s body was recovered July 6 by search-and-rescue team members in the Champlain rubble on Collins Avenue, the result of the June 24 partial collapse of the building, leading to the deaths of 95 people, based on Tuesday’s toll. Perhaps Segal, who was a master of the cutting comeback, Osin recalled, would have noted the irony of his death.
After earning his civil engineering degree from Cornell University in 1965, Segal worked tirelessly for half a century as an engineer. He focused on bridge design early in his career. On his resume he listed areas of expertise in construction management and structural engineering, including “beams, columns, slabs, footings, wind load designs, reinforced concrete, steel design.”
The cause of the Champlain South collapse is under investigation but a 2018 engineer’s report that became a source of dissension among the condo owners cited a design flaw in the pool deck slab and “abundant” cracking and spalling in the concrete of the underground parking garage, where puddles were a frequent problem.
Questions have arisen about maintenance, oversight and delays in the repair process as the 1981 building was about to undergo the Miami-Dade County-mandated 40-year recertification checkup of its structural soundness.
Segal listed his skills as a certification reviewer, his knowledge of the Florida Building Code and his qualifications in “office building construction, condominium construction, reinforced concrete repairs, residential remodeling, commercial land development, design-build contracts, governmental permitting and plans preparations.”
Osin, whose sister and brother-in-law lived in a third-floor unit and were among the survivors, did not know if Segal was involved in contentious condo association discussions about renovations and costly assessments.
Segal earned three master’s degrees in management, finance and business administration from FIU and taught finance and real estate development classes as an adjunct professor at FIU.
He was president of two local real estate investment companies, owner of Simon Segal Construction and senior engineer for A&A Arnold Associates in Hialeah and C.K. Construction Associates of Bay Harbor Islands as well as a licensed real estate and mortgage broker. A member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, he served as secretary and treasurer of the South Florida chapter.
Met at Cuban Hebrew Congregation
Osin, who immigrated to Miami with his family in 1961, became friends with Segal at the Cuban Hebrew Congregation in Miami Beach, when gatherings were held in a meeting room at the old Washington Federal Savings & Loan.
“We were younger than him and impressed by his intelligence and his accomplishments,” Osin said. “He was going to an Ivy League school. Then he got a good job and a nice car. We were just Cuban refugees who could barely speak English and couldn’t even afford a bike.
“We used to have fun going out dancing or to the Miami Beach clubs where we’d try to meet girls — like the Surfcomber Hotel, the Shelborne, the Castaways.
“Simoncito was a very pleasant, smart, caring person. We used to say, ‘Next Christmas in Cuba.’ Because Cubans in Miami thought we’d go back to Cuba in a year or two. It became a running joke.”
This story was originally published July 20, 2021 at 5:59 PM.
