Surfside Condo Board Warned Residents That Concrete Damage Was ‘Significantly Worse’

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People embrace Monday at a makeshift memorial outside St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Surfside, Fla., near the site of the Champlain Towers South condo that partially collapsed last week.

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But since then, Wodnicki wrote, the cost of the work had increased as the building’s condition had deteriorated significantly and visibly.

«Among other things, that estimate 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, Wodnicki wrote. «When you can visually see the concrete spalling (cracking), that means that the rebar holding it together is rusting and deteriorating beneath the surface.

And she warned that the scope of work had expanded since the initial 2018 report: «The concrete deterioration is accelerating. The roof situation got much worse, so extensive roof repairs had to be incorporated.

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The cost for such extensive repairs appears to have been a cause for concern for owners of units in the building. Morabito’s 2018 estimate for repairs had been $9.1 million, but that figure had risen to $15 million when the letter was written.

«For those who believe we are assessing too much, this shows that we are actually under-assessing a bit according to estimates, Wodnicki wrote. «For everyone, I acknowledge that we are talking about a huge project and a very large assessment. Your Board of Directors is working very hard to bring this project to fruition.

Wodnicki wrote that everything in her letter had already been presented, discussed and voted on.

«We have discussed, debated, and argued for years now, and will continue to do so for years to come as different items come into play. Read the full letter here:

NPR’s Brian Mann contributed to this report.