On June 24, 2021, the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida, collapsed in just 12 seconds, killing 98 innocent people in one of the worst building failures in U.S. history. Three years later, there are still no answers, no accountability, no assurance that this land is even safe to develop on—and a new building is already going up with no memorial or acknowledgment of the tragedy.

The United States federal government appointed NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) to investigate the cause of the collapse, yet the investigation remains incomplete with continued delays, pushbacks, and no conclusive findings. Outside experts have been blocked from assisting, and Miami-Dade County and the City of Surfside have allowed for the demolition of key evidence, making it even harder to determine what went wrong.

Meanwhile, DAMAC, the new developer, has purchased the land and is moving forward with ultra-luxury apartments on the very site where 98 lives were lost. Efforts to work with DAMAC to incorporate a memorial on the site of the collapse have been ignored. Even more concerning, the development is proceeding without any disclosure to future buyers that a building collapsed on this land, killing 98 people. No one is trying to stop this development from going up—only to work together to ensure that what happened is properly acknowledged and respected with a memorial.

We ask for the following actions to take place:

• DAMAC has an opportunity to work with the community to incorporate a memorial on the collapse site, honoring those who were lost while moving forward with their project.
• State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle should open a criminal investigation to determine who is accountable for the deadly building collapse.
• Miami-Dade County and the City of Surfside should conduct a full investigation into the approvals, permitting, and structural failures that allowed the building to remain standing despite prior warnings of structural concerns and explain why evidence has been destroyed. They must not allow for evidence to continue to be destroyed for a new development without a complete investigation.
• NIST should complete its investigation before any development moves forward to ensure this land is safe for future residents and to ensure crucial evidence is not destroyed.

DAMAC- we ask you to please work with the community, honor the 98 lives lost, and create a space of remembrance within your development. This is not about stopping progress—it’s about ensuring the people who died on this piece of real estate are never forgotten.

Public support is critical to demand answers, accountability, and respect for those who lost their lives. Sign and share this petition—because 98 lives deserve more than silence and a new development above where they took their last breath.

If you would like to join additional efforts, please email ChamplainMemorial@gmail.com with your supporting statements and contact information.

DISCLAIMER: Donations submitted are not affiliated with our direct cause and will not be received by the victim's families. Donations in their entirety are submitted to the Change.org Charitable Foundation.