Why did the Champlain Towers South condominium in Surfside, Florida, collapse early in the morning of June 23, 2021? Was the building improperly engineered? Was it poorly built? Was it improperly maintained?
Although the analysis of the collapse will require months if not years, preliminary evidence points to a combination of the above. However, I would argue that the tragedy could have been avoided if not for a failure of governance on the part of the condominium association.
Like most condominium association boards, the Champlain Towers South board consisted mostly of amateurs—i.e. people with no expertise concerning the design, construction, or maintenance of buildings. Thus, the board was at the mercy of their consulting engineered hired in 2018 to analyze the building’s structure. Tragically, they also relied on Surfside’s building inspector, who foolishly said a building with numerous cracks, leaks, and areas of spalling concrete was “in very good shape.”
No one fully understood the seriousness of the situation. No one wanted to pay for repairs. The board argued and dithered, until the world around them literally collapsed.
Sadly, the tale of Champlain Towers South sounds like an allegory for another organization, one founded in 1776, and one that does nothing but bicker and squabble while failing to fix serious problems corroding the organization’s soul….
The article from The New York Times.