Surfside leaders reject land swap proposal to build memorial on Champlain Towers site
The Surfside commission on Tuesday rejected a proposal to build a memorial to the victims of the Surfside condo collapse by trading public land to the eventual buyer of the property where the Champlain Towers South fell.
Family members of those who died in the collapse and Surfside residents opposed to the plan packed the town’s commission chambers during an emotional and sometimes contentious meeting. An overflow room was set up downstairs due to overcrowding.
Surfside commissioners heard about an hour of public comment before telling the families they would not consider tearing down the town’s community center and building a new one at the collapse site, along with a memorial.
Commissioners made clear — though they did not vote — that they would not put the land swap before voters in a referendum that would have to pass for the town to let go of public property.
“My heart breaks for you because I know this is something that you were getting your hopes up about,” Mayor Charles Burkett, who was the lone supporter of putting the land swap question on the ballot, said. “I hope you will not give up hope.”
The commission’s deliberations were at times interrupted by interjections from upset family members. One man yelled “Let the people vote!” and a woman pressed Commissioner Eliana Salzhauer on her recent comments about the proposal, saying: “You called us delusional.”
The commission committed to explore different ways to build a memorial, either on the collapse site, on the sliver of the land where part of the tower fell, nearby on 88th Street or farther away at Veterans Park.
Not giving up
The families who proposed the land swap said they were disappointed.
“It shouldn’t be their decision, it should be the residents’ decision,” said David Rodan, whose brother and three cousins died in the collapse. “They’re afraid because they know that the residents want to do the right thing, they want to look back in history and see a memorial where it should be instead of a building.”
Rodan said, in his opinion, there is no alternative to the land swap that would allow for a memorial to be built on the site. He said his group would not drop its proposal and would continue pushing for a referendum by circulating a petition to the town’s residents and using social media to garner support.
“The community wants to see a memorial there and if the land swap is the only option, the community is willing to move their community center five blocks,” Rodan said.
A handful of residents opposed to the land swap told commissioners they support having a memorial in town, but not at the expense of their community center.
“The likelihood of swapping the city’s community center as we know is slim to none,” said resident Randy Rose, who proposed closing nearby 88th Street and turning it into a memorial park.
Raquel Oliveira, whose husband and 5-year-old son died in the collapse, asked that the commission help families find a path forward to build a memorial for the victims.
“Maybe the swap is not the best option or maybe it is,” she said. “What I ask is that we have a little bit of time to take the right decision.”
Other nearby properties have been floated as the site of a future memorial for the victims of the collapse, which killed 98 people when it fell on June 24. But the land-swap plan — first made public during a court hearing — has the support of the Miami-Dade judge overseeing the class-action lawsuit stemming from the collapse.
Judge Michael Hanzman said it would allow for the victims to be compensated through a property sale while allowing for a memorial to be built on the collapse site.
An offer of $120 million for the Champlain Towers South property is on the table.
Hanzman, though, said during a hearing last week that he could not mandate that Surfside commissioners approve the plan. He told the outspoken family members in attendance that they could use their voices to lobby for it.
Victims’ families, Surfside leaders rally supporters
Heading into Tuesday’s meeting victim’s families organized in a WhatsApp group chat, and said they launched a media blitz, created the hashtag #SUPPORTTHELANDSWAP, wrote to elected leaders and circulated fliers asking supporters to speak in favor of the land swap.
Carlos Wainberg, whose brother-in-law and cousins died in the collapse, likened their fight to that of 9/11 families who fought to build a memorial at ground zero. He said the new community center could be built to have upgraded facilities and more parking, and that private donations could be solicited to pay for the design and construction.
“We’re gonna do everything in our power to try to stop the sale of this land before the Surfside residents actually get the chance to make a decision about what’s supposed to go on that land,” he said.
Sofia Kaufmann, whose parents died in the collapse, said she supports the land-swap because asking a developer to build a memorial and a new high-rise on the site of a collapse would lessen the value of the land, meaning victims would be compensated less.
“The swap would really be a win-win for everybody,” she said in a recent interview, prior to Tuesday’s meeting.
Commissioners Salzhauer and Nelly Velasquez, meanwhile, asked residents on the social media site NextDoor to speak up at the meeting after receiving emails from residents opposing the deal.
“This is the moment we come together as a community to defend our community center and all town-owned properties,” Velasquez wrote. ”Please, I urge everyone to dedicate Tuesday night to defend what we all love and cherish. United we are strong!”
Salzhauer wrote in another post that said the town “will NOT allow this tragedy to be exploited for profit and become the undoing or Surfside’s priceless community center and our residents’ quality of life.”
Salzhauer, who drew Hanzman’s ire when she called the land-swap plan “delusional,” has frustrated some who lost family in the Champlain Towers South collapse.
Wainberg called Salzhauer’s comments “disgusting” and said she was spreading lies and conspiracy theories to convince Surfside residents to oppose the land swap.
“She is still insisting that the idea came from developers and they are using us as a Trojan horse,” Wainberg wrote in a text message. “Truly disgusting coming from a city official to use [these] lies to try and convince the residents of her town to support the wrong cause without even taking the time to hear us out.”
Mauricio Kaufmann, the brother of Sofia Kaufmann, said he came up with the land-swap proposal without any developer’s help.
“I never talked to any developer,” he said prior to Tuesday’s meeting. “I would like to see a memorial on the site where it happened.”
Martin Langesfeld, whose sister and brother-in-law died in the collapse, said Surfside leaders should respect and help honor the victims while compensating the families.
“We understand the community center is a memorable place, and that is the reason why we are asking to rebuild the community center however the city desires, along with a memorial to honor the 98 people who died in Surfside,” he said in a statement. “Approving this land swap will not only honor the lives of all those who died, but will also compensate the victims.”
Commissioners said Tuesday night that they would work with the families to raise money for the memorial, perhaps from the county, state or federal government.
“I will do what we can to make that happen,” Salzhauer said. “But we cannot take the town’s land. We are not going to swap the community center. That is not an option.”
This story was originally published September 14, 2021 at 6:46 PM.
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