Photo Courtesy of Getty Images (Joe Raedle)
The developers of a luxury apartment block that was being built next to the collapsed Surfside, Florida, condo offered to pay residents $400,000 amid complaints that construction was causing their walls to vibrate and debris to fall into the pool, according to The Washington Post.
Court documents and email records obtained by The Post revealed the condo association of Champlain Towers, which partially collapsed more than a week ago, was sent a draft offer by the luxury high rise Eighty Seven Park, seeking to prevent them from opposing the project.
The agreement, which asked Champlain Towers homeowners to “reasonably support” the Eighty Seven Park project, was left unsigned after the association lawyers highlighted flaws in the proposal.
The offer came after multiple Champlain Towers homeowners complained that the construction next door was causing plastic foam and debris to fall into the pool as well as their walls to vibrate.
Related Story: Four People Are Dead and 159 Missing After Champlain Towers Collapse in Near Miami
CNN reported that Champlain Towers South residents had previously complained about their building shaking during the construction of Eighty Seven Park.
Terra Group and 8701 Collins Development LLC, two developers behind Eighty Seven Park, did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
It is unclear what caused the partial collapse of Champlain Towers South on June 24, which has killed at least 24 people. Multiple recent reports have detailed extensive structural problems at the building before the collapse.
CNN reported that there was no evidence that the construction of Eighty Seven Park contributed to the disaster.
8701 Collins Development LLC also said in a previous statement that it was “confident that the construction of 87 Park did not cause or contribute to the collapse that took place in Surfside.”
Champlain Towers South residents had concerns that the buildings were too close. The two buildings were originally separated by a 50-foot-wide street, The Post
reported, citing public records.However, in 2013, 8701 Collins Development LLC reached a deal with the City of Miami Beach to acquire the street to build on it.
Eighty Seven Park was built between 2016 and 2019. During its construction, environmental experts were concerned that the building was at risk of chronic flooding due to rising sea levels in Miami, with the environmental author Jeff Goodell referring to Miami as “the poster child for a major city in big trouble.”