Surfside Land Swap Deal To Build A Memorial Rejected: Report

Miami FL

16 September, 2021

4:10 PM

Description

SURFSIDE, FL — Surfside commissioners rejected a proposal to trade public land so the town can build a memorial to the victims of June's Champlain Towers South condo collapse at the site. Commissioners considered the plan to trade public land with the eventual buyer of the property so a memorial could be built there at its Tuesday meeting but decided against it, the Miami Herald reported. The plan also called for tearing down Surfside's community center and putting up a new one at the condo site. Both sides of the proposal - family members of the collapse's victims and town residents who opposed the plan - spoke out during the meeting's lengthy public comment segment. Though no vote was taken, commissioners said they wouldn't ask town residents to consider the land swap in a referendum vote. The site of the tragic condo collapse that killed 98 people officially went on the market at the end of August. The future owner of the former 12-story Champlain Towers South building's site will have the opportunity to build a new 12-story residential development with a maximum height of 120 feet at the property, according to the site's listing. The sale of the property, which is located at 8777 Collins Ave., is being represented by Avison Young, a commercial real estate firm, on a pro-bono basis. The property's sale is being overseen by and must be approved by Judge Michael A. Hanzman with the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court in Miami-Dade County, the listing said. In July, Hanzman said the victims of the condo tower's collapse will receive at least $150 million in compensation. That amount includes about $50 million from insurance and at least $100 million in proceeds from the property's sale. The site's sale will include a live bidding process, though no date has been provided yet.