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Florida's condo crisis grows after Surfside Collapse
Rebecca Liebson with the Tampa Bay Times joined FOX 35's Garrett Wymer to break down the state of the condo crisis in Florida, where some condo owners are preparing for the reality of having to sell for a loss, stemming from guidelines passed in the fallout of the Champlain Towers collapse in Surfside.
COCOA, Fla. - A federal investigation has concluded that the collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominium in Surfside, Florida, began weeks before the building came crashing down in June 2021, killing 98 people.
The final report from the National Institute of Standards and Technology details how design flaws, construction deficiencies and decades of alterations combined to trigger one of the deadliest building failures in U.S. history.
Design did not meet building code: Feds
What we know:
Federal investigators found that the collapse originated with failures in two connections between garage columns and the pool deck in early June 2021, weeks before the building fell.
According to the report, the condominium's original design did not meet building code requirements in effect at the time it was constructed. Investigators also found that the building was not built exactly as designed. Large planters added to the pool deck, along with later modifications that included sand and pavers, increased stress on an already weakened structure.
NIST determined that some areas of the building had less than half of the strength required by code. Corrosion of reinforcing steel in portions of the pool deck and parking garage further weakened the structure.
The building collapsed at 1:22 a.m. on June 24, 2021, while most residents were asleep.
Timeline:
Investigators said the first structural failures likely occurred in early June 2021 when critical pool deck connections began to fail.
Photos taken in the weeks before the collapse showed a long crack in a planter wall on the pool deck and additional cracking where the wall met a planter box. Less than 24 hours before the disaster, investigators said the planter detached from the pool deck.
About a week before the collapse, water leaking into the parking garage became noticeably worse. Witnesses reported that the flow increased significantly in the final hours before the building failed, with one person describing it as resembling a "water faucet."
Residents and witnesses later described seeing portions of the pool deck collapse in sequence before the tower itself fell.
What they're saying:
"When building structures are designed and built to required codes and standards, they have margins against failure, meaning they should be able to support much more load than they are expected to bear," said Judith Mitrani-Reiser, a co-leader of the investigation.
"In the case of Champlain Towers South, these margins against failure were too narrow from the start," she said.
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Mitrani-Reiser also said investigators found significant deficiencies in the original design and construction.
"In some locations, the design provided less than half of the code-required strength," she said.
Witnesses interviewed by investigators described the collapse unfolding "one bay at a time as if dominoes were falling in a sequential chain reaction." Others reported hearing sounds similar to a "jet engine" and feeling a sudden rush of wind moments before the tower came down.
What we don't know:
The report identifies the engineering and structural causes of the collapse, but questions remain about potential legal responsibility. The companies responsible for designing and constructing the building in the late 1970s are no longer in operation.
Investigators also did not identify a single triggering event immediately before the collapse, instead describing a progressive failure that unfolded over weeks as structural weaknesses worsened.
The backstory:
Champlain Towers South was a 12-story beachfront condominium in Surfside, just north of Miami. The collapse killed 98 people and prompted a massive search-and-rescue operation that lasted weeks.
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Victims' families and survivors later reached a settlement exceeding $1 billion to resolve wrongful death and personal injury claims related to the disaster.
The collapse also intensified scrutiny of aging condominium buildings throughout Florida, particularly along the state's coast.
Big picture view:
The Surfside disaster triggered sweeping changes to Florida condominium laws. In 2022, state lawmakers approved legislation requiring condominium associations to maintain adequate reserves for major repairs and structural maintenance.
The requirements led to significant financial assessments for some owners as associations sought to address years of deferred maintenance. Complaints about rising costs later prompted lawmakers to adopt additional measures giving associations and residents more flexibility in meeting the new requirements.
The NIST report is expected to shape building safety standards nationwide and serves as a warning about the consequences of inadequate structural design, deferred maintenance and aging infrastructure in residential buildings.
The Source: This story was written based on reporting by the Associated Press.