Dubai developer to buy Florida condo collapse site for $120M
Surfside
Fla.
Associated Press
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Pablo Langesfeld looks at the name of his daughter Nicole Langesfeld, Thursday, May 12, 2022, in Surfside, Fla. A large banner with the names of the 98 killed in the collapse of the Champlain Towers South building nearly a year ago, was installed around the site. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)Ronit Naibryf, right, shows Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levina Cava, the name of her son Ilan Naibryf, Thursday, May 12, 2022, in Surfside, Fla. A large banner with the names of the 98 people killed in the collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominium nearly a year ago, was installed around the site. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)The names of some of the 98 killed are listed on a large banner that surrounds the site where the Champlain Towers South condominium building once stood, Thursday, May 12, 2022, in Surfside, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)Workers pump water out of the foundation of the former Champlain Towers South building, Thursday, May 12, 2022, in Surfside, Fla. The Eighty Seven Park building is to the south. Parties associated with the building and others have agreed to a settlement of $997 million to compensate the victims and families of those killed when the Champlain Towers South building collapsed nearly a year ago. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)A shoe is seen amid debris at the edge of what remains of the Champlain Towers South condominium building Thursday, May 12, 2022, in Surfside, Fla. A large banner was installed around the site with the names of the 98 killed when the building suddenly collapsed nearly a year ago. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)Christopher Rosa Cruz installs a large banner at the site of the Champlain Towers South condominium building, Thursday, May 12, 2022, in Surfside, Fla. The banner lists the names of the 98 people killed when the building suddenly collapse nearly a year ago. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)Pablo Langesfeld talks during the unveiling of a large banner with the names of the 98 killed in the Champlain Towers South condominium building collapse, Thursday, May 12, 2022, in Surfside, Fla. Langesfeld lost his daughter Nicole. To the right Ronit Naibryf, lost her son Ilan Naibryft and Chana Wasserman, left, lost her parents Tzvi and Itty Ainsworth. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)FILE - A giant tarp covers a section of rubble where search and rescue personnel have been working at the Champlain Towers South condo building, as demolition experts were preparing to bring down the precarious still-standing portion, Sunday, July 4, 2021, in Surfside, Fla. A nearly $1 billion tentative settlement has been reached in a class-action lawsuit brought by families of victims and survivors of last June's condominium collapse in Surfside, Fla., an attorney said Wednesday, May 11, 2022. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)
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Pablo Langesfeld looks at the name of his daughter Nicole Langesfeld, Thursday, May 12, 2022, in Surfside, Fla. A large banner with the names of the 98 killed in the collapse of the Champlain Towers South building nearly a year ago, was installed around the site. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
Michael Fay, of Avison Young, said hundreds of potential buyers had shown interest in the property, but none were ultimately prepared to match the strong initial bid of Hussain Sajwani, of DAMAC Properties. Avison Young is the commercial real estate firm that was appointed to market the land as part of a class-action lawsuit.
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The auction for the 1.8-acre (0.72-hectare) parcel in Surfside was scheduled for Tuesday. Earlier this month, families of the victims reached a $997 million settlement with local officials, the developers of an adjacent building and others whom they hold responsible for the collapse of the 40-year-old, 12-story beachside building during the early hours of June 24.
Most of the Champlain Towers South collapsed suddenly about 1:20 a.m. last June 24 as most of its residents slept. Only three people survived the initial collapse. No other survivors were found despite the around-the-clock efforts of rescuers who dug through a 40-foot (12-meter) pile of rubble for two weeks. Another three dozen people were in the portion of the building that remained standing.
The condominium's residents and visitors formed a melting pot: Orthodox Jews, Latin Americans, Israelis, Europeans and snowbirds from the Northeast.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology is investigating the cause of the collapse, a process that is expected to take years.
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