Surfside condo collapse: 5 things to know about Champlain Towers South

SURFSIDE, Fla. — A search-and-rescue mission continues at a South Florida oceanfront condominium that partially collapsed early Thursday morning. The Champlain Towers South Condo crumbled to the ground in seconds in Surfside, a Miami-Dade County community located just north of Miami Beach.

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Here is what we know about Champlain Towers South:

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The building

Champlain Towers South is a 12-story condominium located at 8777 Collins Ave. in Surfside. Construction for the condo was completed in 1981 and there are 136 units, the Miami Herald reported. Fifty-five units were part of the building that collapsed. The oceanside condominium is one of three buildings that have more than 300 residences, according to CNN. The others are Champlain Towers North and Champlain Towers East.

Where is it?

Surfside is a community sandwiched between Miami Beach to the south and Bal Harbour to the north. The town of Surfside runs along Collins Avenue, and condominiums and hotels line Collins Avenue, including the Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club. Champlain Towers South is located about a block from North Beach Oceanside Park. The median rent in Surfside is about $2,000, according to CNN. The median household income is $69,000, and the median home value is $626,000, according to July 2019 census records. The streets that run north and south are named for authors, such as Hawthorne, Emerson and Dickens, the Herald reported. Isaac Singer Boulevard runs east and west after the town put that name on 95th Street, where Singer lived before his death in 1991.

Hefty price

Living at Champlain Towers South is expensive. According to multiple real estate websites, condominiums that recently sold in the building were listed at $600,000 to $699,000, the Herald reported. According to Zillow, a three-bedroom, two-bath unit on the ninth floor that had 1,748 square feet of living space sold on June 17 for $710,000. On May 11, a 4,500-square-foot penthouse suite, which has four bedrooms and four baths, sold for $2,880,000, according to Zillow. The median rent is about $2,000, median household income is $69,000, and median home value is $626,000, July 2019 census records say.

Amenities

Champlain Towers South units have spacious living areas, according to multiple real estate companies. The condos have master suites with large walk-in closets, elaborate master bathrooms and oceanfront balconies, the Herald reported. The condo’s amenities include a gym, heated pool, barbecue area, a 24-hour concierge, hot tub, sauna and valet. The condo also has direct access to the beach, and it is equipped with security that monitors the building 24/7.

Residents

The population of Surfside is 5,700, according to CNN. The missing residents of Champlain Towers South include at least 34 Jewish residents, according to the Sun-Sentinel. There are five synagogues within walking distance of the condo. The missing people also include nine people from Argentina, according to a news release from the Argentine Consulate in Miami. There are also six citizens of Paraguay, including siblings of that country’s first lady, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Paraguay. In Surfside, 54% percent of its residents are non-Hispanic white, while 45% identify as Latino or Hispanic, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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