We have just entered the third week since the horrific collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Fla., such a short amount of time, it seems, to start putting a price tag on the property where the building once stood.
The people most closely touched are still grieving. Rescue workers, now in recovery mode, are tired, but tireless in their determination to finish the job. As of this writing, 97 victims have been recovered. More, surely, will follow.
Wednesday saw the release of the frantic, and unnerving, calls to 911 from that horrible night. That same day, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Michael Hanzman, assigned to deal with the herculean financial and legal ramifications of the tragedy, announced his first significant legal decision: The process for the sale of the prime oceanfront parcel where Champlain Towers South once stood can begin, immediately.
The decision all but scuttles any plans to turn the site at 8777 Collins Ave. into solely a memorial for those who died. It's a decision some relatives found painful to accept. Hanzman said converting the entire Champlain property to a memorial would not generate much money for those who will be compensated.
Although we agree with the judge's intent to compensate the families as generously as possible, these families' displeasure at the decision is a reminder that emotions are so raw, that even well-intended decisions will not please everyone.
It's a reminder, too, that the thoughts of victims' survivors should, when appropriate, be factored in.
As expected, some family members do not want the land where the condominium stood to be sold, even for as much the $110 million that would be divided among survivors, along with the disbursement of millions more in insurance payments.
Instead, they want a memorial for their loved ones at the site.
