SURFSIDE, Fla. – The federal investigators who are looking into the cause of the Champlain Towers South collapse released a preliminary report on Thursday that could have implications for another building.
Champlain Towers South, formerly at 8855 Collins Ave., and the occupied Champlain Towers North, at 8877 Collins Ave., were both built in 1981 by the same developer.
“I think everybody in town, in general, is concerned,” Surfside Mayor Shlomo Danzinger said after learning about the investigators’ findings.
Champlain Towers North is undergoing its 40-year re-certification through a four-phase plan that Allyn Kilsheimer, an engineer, is spearheading.
“If I saw anything that I thought was a danger to them and the building structurally, I would say something,” Kilsheimer said.
Danzinger said it’s important to note that Champlain Towers South “didn’t do the maintenance that was required.”
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On June 24, 2021, the Champlain Towers South pool deck collapsed first and the building followed about seven minutes later — killing 98 people — and raising a cloud of fear about the condition of old oceanfront buildings.
The investigators with the National Institute of Standards and Technology found that a Champlain Towers South pool deck had a “severe strength” deficiency.
“We found out almost immediately in the conversation that these deficiencies had been found and have been addressed and are continuing to be addressed,” Danzinger said.
Glenn R. Bell, an NCST investigator, reported the design of the structure failed to meet the codes and standards applicable at the time of original construction.
“In the most severe of these understrength areas, the strength provided by the design is only about half of what’s required by codes and standards,” Bell said during his presentation.
Related story: Investigators find pool deck showed ‘severe strength deficiency’
Kilsheimer said the situation at Champlain Towers North is very different.
“We in fact have concrete sonars that we have taken that show the concrete is within the required strength that was designed for in the first place,” Kilsheimer said.
The investigators of Champlain Towers South were also looking into corrosion in parts of the deck’s steel reinforcement. They plan to publish the final report on May 2025.
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