The judge overseeing numerous lawsuits related to the deadly Surfside condo collapse in Florida said the site should be sold to benefit the victims with a memorial built nearby.
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Michael Hanzman said at a remote hearing Wednesday that any plans to build a memorial on the site where the building once stood would be unrealistic. He said the lot must be sold to compensate the victims, and at least one bidder has offered up to $120 million for the lot.
"It has to be used for the benefit of all the victims collectively," Hanzman said, rather than using it as the site for the memorial itself as some families want.
The city of Miami Beach recently offered part of the North Beach Oceanside Park as a potential location for the memorial honoring the 98 people who were killed in the June 24 collapse.
Hanzman said the park is "a remarkable and extremely valuable piece of real estate. I understand this is a beautiful site that is within walking distance" of the Surfside collapse location.
For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below.
Still, some family members of collapse victims say they would prefer a fitting memorial at the exact location.
"I believe the memorial should be at Surfside, and not Miami Beach, at the site of the tragedy," said Pablo Langenfeld, whose daughter and son-in-law died in the collapse.
"For us, it's not a matter of money," added David Rodan, whose brother and a cousin were among the victims.
But Hanzman said options other than the park for a memorial are extremely limited. The park is about 100 feet (30 meters) from the collapse site and was used as a command site for search and rescue teams.
"I'm not going to give people false hope," the judge said.
Hanzman also suggested the Town of Surfside should not pursue a zoning change that could reduce from 205 to 139 the number of units in a potential new building — which would decrease the location's value.
The judge said he would be "beyond shocked" if the zoning change were enacted. An attorney for the town said the issue has been considered for more than a year but has not yet been decided.
"I need to know what we have to work with here," Hanzman said. "Circumstances do change."
The judge is overseeing numerous lawsuits brought since the Champlain Towers collapse, all of which are being consolidated into a single case with a court-appointed receiver handling finances. Investigators are still trying to determine what caused the 40-year-old building to collapse, which came years after initial warnings about serious structural flaws.
