"A lot of this work could have been done or planned for in years gone by. But this is where we are now." That’s what Jean Wodnicki, condo board president at the Champlain Towers South condo complex in Surfside, Fla., wrote in a letter to residents on April 9. She was warning that problems with the building had "gotten significantly worse" since a 2018 inspection, with the letter serving as an explanation of why residents were facing a $15 million special assessment for repairs, the New York Times reports. That assessment was approved by residents, but unfortunately it was too late," resident Erick De Moura said, per CNN. More on the letter:
- That 2018 inspection showed areas of serious concerns, and those issues had only grown more severe, with new problems arising, Wodnicki wrote. Plus, costs rise. Those factors contributed to a growing tab. "This is how we have gone from the estimated $9,128,433.60 cited in [the] 2018 report, to the much larger figure we have today," she wrote.