Report: Developers of Luxury Apartments Next to Collapsed Miami Building Offered Condo Association $400,000

The recent history of a tragic space

Eighty Seven Park
A view of the Champlain Towers South, where the 12-story beachfront condominium partially collapsed last Thursday is located next to the Eighty Seven Park condominiums in Surfside, Florida.
Octavio Jones for The Washington Post via Getty Images

Reading about the collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida and its aftermath makes for an unsettling, harrowing experience. Learning about the history that led up to this tragic event is equally wrenching, which has included questions of whether or not it could have been prevented. Now, new details have emerged about the history of the building and those around it, which might offer more insights into the disaster.

A new report from The Washington Post revealed that the developers of Eighty Seven Park, a luxury building located next to Champlain Towers South, offered the Champlain Towers South condo association $400,000 two years ago. In the article, Rebecca Tan, Tik Root and Beth Reinhard write that residents of Champlain Towers South had complained repeatedly about different aspects of the construction of Eighty Seven Park — including debris falling into the pool and vibrations from the ongoing construction.

The developer has stated that it is “confident that the construction of 87 Park did not cause or contribute to the collapse that took place in Surfside.”

In 2019, the Post reports, a member of Champlain Towers South’s condo association wrote that “we have concerns regarding the structure of our building” as a result of the nearby construction. The agreement proposed by Eighty Seven Park included “clauses in the proposal that would bar owners from criticizing the development and ban them from discussing any financial settlement under penalty of losing the payment.” Ultimately, it was not signed.

How relevant this episode proves to be to the building’s collapse remains to be seen. For now, it’s an unsettling reminder that this building had troubles even before it was beset by tragedy.

The InsideHook Newsletter.

News, advice and insights for the most interesting person in the room.