Champlain Towers South: Letter sent months before collapse, warning building damage is accelerating

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Chairman Jan Wodenecki sent the letter to neighbors on April 9.

“Concrete deterioration is accelerating. Roofing has gotten much worse, so extensive repairs to the roof had to be done,” says the letter, obtained by CNN’s Erin Burnett Outfront.

Wodnicki also describes the problems facing the building saying, “When you can see concrete cracking (crack) with the naked eye, it means that the rebar holding it together is rusting and deteriorating beneath the surface.”

When asked by CNN’s John Berman if he had received the 2021 letter from Wodnicki, Champlain Towers South resident Eric de Moura said he had already received the letter.

“Aesthetically, you look at the building and you look at the north tower, they need money to fix a lot of things. There was a leak in the garage. There were cracks in the balconies. So yeah, you need money to fix a lot of things,” de Mora said on New Day. .

A structural field survey conducted by Morabito Consultants Inc. In 2018, several things went wrong with the building, including significant structural damage below the pool deck, according to the report.

“The waterproofing failure caused significant structural damage to the concrete structural slab below these areas,” the report says.

In a statement to CNN since the collapse, Morabito Consultants wrote that the report “detailed significant cracks and cracks in the concrete.”

The report did not say whether the structure was in danger of collapsing, but the group said it had submitted an estimate to the condo assembly to “make comprehensive and necessary repairs.”

The April letter seeks to explain a private valuation of $15 million for apartment owners that will be discussed at an upcoming meeting. The letter says that the initial range of labor estimates for 2018 has been expanded.

“Other previously identified projects have been implemented under the main project. New issues have been identified. Costs are also rising every year. This is how we have gone from the estimated amount of $9,128,433.60 indicated in the 2018 Morabito report, to the much larger figure we have.” Today “.

The board later approved $15 million in repairs, according to an evaluation letter obtained by CNN.

CNN has reached out to representatives of the Champlain Towers South Association for further comments.

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