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THE SITE OF THE CHAMPLAIN TOWERS -- NOT AN EASY TASK TO DECIDE
WHAT TO DO
By
Eric Glazer, Esq.
Published September 27, 2021
I don’t envy Judge Michael Hanzman, the judge
who is assigned to decide the fate of the property where The
Champlain Towers South Condominium once stood. The question of
what to do at this sacred site is not easy. Some families want
no re-development and only a memorial. The City of Surfside
needs to see residential redevelopment at that site or lose an
incredible about of annual real estate tax dollars.
At present, there is an offer to buy the land
for $120 million dollars. But that offer doesn’t promise to even
put up a memorable plaque marking the spot of the tragedy.
Suggestions of rebuilding on the site and forming a memorable
tribute somewhere else in Surfside have also not progressed.
According to The Daily Business Review,
Hanzman said he is sympathetic to those who want a memorial, but
his job is to get the most money for all families of those who
died and the approximately 35 families who survived but lost
their homes. He has scheduled the auction for late February or
early March and said that date is firm because many of the
survivors need money to buy new homes.
Judge Hanzman is right, his job is to get the
most money for the victims. And, while 120 million sounds like a
lot of money, it isn’t when we consider the fact that there were
140 units. There’s another 50 million or so in insurance and
this still isn’t even close to being able to compensate the
victims and their families all that they are rightfully entitled
to.
Then comes an even harder part. How does the
court decide who gets what from the limited pot? Does the court
allow the family of a 30 year victim to collect more that the
family of an 80 year old victim? What about people who survived
but were injured? Do they get anything? Of course, everyone
needs to get reimbursed for the loss of their unit as well.
These are Solomon like decisions the court will ultimately be
faced with and they are not easy tasks. Of course, whatever
decisions are made there will be people that agree with the
court’s conclusions and method of pay-out and those who do not.
There is simply no way to make everyone whole financially. And
in the end……it’s only money anyway.
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About
HOA & Condo Blog
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Eric Glazer graduated
from the University of Miami School of Law in 1992 after
receiving a B.A. from NYU. He has practiced community
association law for three decades and is the owner of
Glazer and Sachs, P.A. a five attorney law firm with
offices in Fort Lauderdale and Orlando.
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Eric is Board Certified by The Florida Bar in
Condominium and Planned Development Law.
Since 2009, Eric has been the host of Condo Craze
and HOAs, a weekly one hour radio show that airs at 11:00 a.m.
each Sunday on 850 WFTL.
See:
www.condocrazeandhoas.com.
Eric is the first attorney in the State of
Florida that designed a course that certifies condominium and
HOA residents as eligible to serve on a Board of Directors and
has now certified more than 20,000 Floridians all across the
state. He is certified as a Circuit Court Mediator by The
Florida Supreme Court and has mediated dozens of disputes
between associations and unit owners. Eric also devotes
significant time to advancing legislation in the best interest
of Florida community association members.
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