The president of the Champlain South Towers condo association explained to residents in a recently revealed April letter that the building was in dire need of repairs.
The board leader, Jean Wodnicki, reportedly wrote to residents on April 9, 2021, detailing the importance of the $15 million renovations the residents were expected to fund.
A large portion of the 40-year-old building collapsed last Thursday, leaving 11 people confirmed dead, with approximately 150 still unaccounted for after the partial collapse, local officials said Monday evening.
Wodnicki’s letter referenced a 2018 report from a contractor, Frank Morabito, in which he evaluated “major structural damage” within the concrete slabs below the pool deck and found that “most of the concrete deterioration needs to be repaired in a timely fashion.”
The president noted that Morabito indicated “that the concrete damage observed would begin to multiply exponentially over the years” and “indeed the observable damage such as in the garage has gotten significantly worse since the initial inspection.”
“When you can visually see the concrete spalling (cracking), that means that the rebar holding it together is rusting and deteriorating beneath the surface. The concrete deterioration is accelerating. The roof situation got much worse, so extensive roof repairs had to be incorporated,” the letter read, noting the “original scope of the work in the 2018 report [from Morabito] has expanded.”
Florida buildings are required to be recertified every 40 years. 2021 marks the 40th year for the Champlain South Towers.
A day before the letter was published, on Sunday, an attorney for the condo association downplayed the 2018 report.
“Concrete spalling, rebar deterioration — these are not unusual events when you have buildings exposed to corrosive conditions,” Donna DiMaggio Berger said.
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Emergency workers are still searching for survivors amid the rubble.
