Photo: AFP
A Miami-Dade Circuit judge approved a sale agreement for the oceanside property where the 12-story Champlain Towers South condo collapsed in Surfside.
If no higher bids are approved, the property at 8777 Collins Ave. will be sold for $120 million and turned over to billionaire real estate developer Hussain Sajwani for the construction of a new luxury high-rise. Sajwani, owns the Dubai-based DAMAC Properties, and is currently the lone bidder for the land.
Despite objections from family members of the victims over the speed of the sale, the judge overseeing the property as part of a class-action lawsuit has sought to sell the property as quickly as possible in order to compensate property owners who lost their homes and the families of those who died in the June 24 collapse.
The memorial for the Surfside condo collapse was taken apart to preserve the countless photos, letters, stuffed animals and other mementos from weather damage amid hurricane season.
“The decision was made to preserve and safeguard as much of the wall as possible to protect the cherished mementos, messages and belongings from the threat of storms, rain and heat, especially as hurricane season ramps up in the late summer months,” said Surfside spokeswoman Malarie Dauginikas.
A seven-person team cleared the memorial, packing the items into 24 large bins that were loaded onto a rental truck along with dozens of white-and-blue markers that lined the memorial. Rain damage had faded some letters, but most of the memorial felt like it was stuck in time.
“I and my team here at the museum feel honored to be assisting in the effort to preserve the memories of all of those who passed in this tragedy and we’re looking forward to safeguarding their memories and the story of this moment,” Michael Knoll, the chief curator at History Miami said.
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