Surfside collapsed condo site gets bid of up to $120M

A private bidder has put in an offer of up to $120 million for the plot of land where the collapsed Champlain Towers South condominium building stood in Surfside, Fla.

As the Miami Herald reports, the offer was revealed during a Wednesday hearing before Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Michael Hanzman, who is overseeing the multitude of lawsuits that have been filed since the Surfside condominium building collapsed in June, killing 98 people. The bidder has not been publicly identified.

Real estate broker Michael Fay told the judge that the buyers were making an offer of $110 million for the site, the Herald reports.

“They’re willing to go to $120 million,” Fay said.

“That’s the best news I’ve heard so far today,” Hanzman replied. “They’re a viable company that has the wherewithal to close on a transaction of this magnitude?”

“We do believe that to be true,” Fay responded.

The judge directed Fay to move as “quickly as possible” to start a “short auction process.”

“I want to compensate these victims as soon as possible,” Hanzman said.

Last month, Hanzman ruled that the victims and families affected by the collapse will receive an initial minimum compensation of $150 million, with the settlement coming from both Champlain Towers’ insurance company and the eventual sale.

“The court’s concern has always been the victims here,” he said at the time.

The Herald notes that the question of what will happen to the property has been an ongoing, sensitive conversation between lawyers representing the various lawsuits as well as the survivors. Some had hoped that the government would purchase the land and turn it into a park or memorial for the victims.