Chairman of the Board of Directors Jean Wodnicki addressed the letter to the neighbors on April 9th.

"Concrete deterioration is accelerating. The roof situation has deteriorated so much that extensive roof repairs had to be incorporated," reads the letter, which was acquired from CNN's "Erin Burnett OutFront".

Wodnicki further describes the building's problems by saying, "If you can visually see the chipping (cracking) of the concrete, it means that the rebar that holds it together is rusting and deteriorating under the surface."

The letter surfaced amid lawsuits for damages due to the fatal collapse. A third such lawsuit was filed Monday by Raysa Rodriguez, a ninth-floor resident who was sleeping when the building partially collapsed, and others. The class action lawsuit alleges the condominium company's "reckless and negligent behavior" as the cause of the disaster.

A 2018 poll that outlined problems with the building was a "big red flag," said attorney Adam Schwartzbaum, whose grandparents lived in the building and complained about garage leaks before moving out about a decade ago.

"Based on our research, there were many warning signs more than 10 years ago – maybe even longer," he told CNN.

CNN reached out to representatives from the Champlain Towers South Housing Association for comment.

"A fatal mistake"

Much of the building collapsed on Thursday. The death toll stands at 11.

When asked by CNN's John Berman if he received the letter from Wodnicki in 2021, Champlain Towers South resident Erick de Moura said he received the letter.

"Aesthetically, you look at the building and the north tower, they need money to fix a lot of things. There were leaks in the garage. There were cracks on the balconies. So yeah, you need the money to fix it," it but unfortunately it was too late, "said De Moura on" New Day ".

The letter confirms what Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett has been saying all along: "Something was very, very wrong in this building.

"Buildings in America just don't come to mind. This is a third world phenomenon, not a first world phenomenon. … You probably don't understand the intensity of the problem and you probably just thought it was a pro forma operation that we need to perform. That was of course a fatal mistake. "

Repairs approved by the board

A structural field survey conducted by Morabito Consultants Inc. in 2018 found several defects to the building, including major structural damage under the pool deck, according to the report.

"The failed waterproofing caused major structural damage to the concrete slab underneath these areas," the report said.

In a statement to CNN since the collapse, Morabito Consultants wrote that the report "listed detailed cracks and breaks in the concrete."

The report didn't say whether the structure was in danger of collapsing, but the group said it had provided the housing association with an estimate to "make the major and necessary repairs".

The April letter aims to explain a $ 15 million special valuation to condo owners to be discussed at an upcoming meeting. The original scope of the 2018 work estimates has expanded, the letter said.

"Other previously identified projects have been placed under the main project. New issues have been identified. Also, costs are increasing every year. So we've moved from the estimated $ 9,128,433.60 reported in the 2018 Morabito Report to the much higher Number that we have increased. " today, "it says.

The board later approved the $ 15 million repairs, according to an appraisal letter received from CNN.

Engineers will "finally" reach a consensus

John Pistorino is a civil engineer hired by lawyers representing unknown clients to investigate what happened, he said. Although he did not want to comment in detail on Champlain Towers South, he told CNN that there might be "explanations" for the specific deterioration cited in the letter.

If the engineers felt there were urgent problems with the structure, the local building authority should have been informed. If that officer were also alarmed, he or she could have had the problem assessed by an independent engineer, he said.

Pistorino is one of several engineers hired by various companies who will investigate the breakdown, he said.

"The idea is for engineers to come together and compare notes and expertise and eventually come to a consensus on what exactly happened," he said.

CNN's Tina Burnside, Curt Devine and Eliott C. McLaughlin contributed to this report.

source https://seapointrealtors.com/2021/07/31/champlain-towers-south-letter-sent-months-before-collapse-warned-building-damage-was-accelerating/

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