Families of Surfside condo collapse victims gather to honor loved ones as plans move forward for memorial

Nearly five years after the town of Surfside was shattered by a deadly condominium collapse, families and friends of victims gathered for a moment of reflection and to see how a future memorial will honor their loved ones.

The ceremony on Wednesday afternoon lasted about an hour and took place near large concrete and steel sections that once held the homes of those who lived in the Champlain Towers South building.

The pieces will be incorporated into the memorial that will honor the lives of those who were killed when part of the building collapsed.

“That is extremely significant. To return pieces of the building to their home,” said Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.

“I think the design that we’ve settled on is going to be something that serves that very important purpose, of getting people not only to remember and to honor, but to ask difficult questions about what happened and why,” said Town of Surfside Commissioner Gerardo Vildostegui.

The touching tribute comes nearly five years after 98 people died. Families of victims say their memories will live on forever.

“It’s been four years and a half and that’s a lot but at the same time, I still have the same feeling of the day of the collapse,” said Raquel Oliveira Leone, who lost her 5-year-old son Lorenzo and her husband Alfredo. “We cannot forget this. We won’t, but we want the world to know what happened here.”

“There are birthdays, dinners, first steps, and final conversations,” said Martin Langesfeld, who lost his sister and brother-in-law.

The families and community leaders gathered to pray and took a moment to walk closer to the pieces that will help create the memorial for their loved ones.

“It will be really nice when they get the memorial up over there. That will be a real dedication and a real reflection when that happens,” said Jay Miller, who lived in the building when the collapse occurred.

Wednesday’s event marked a significant step toward turning the renderings into the actual memorial that will be built off 88th Street, east of Collins Avenue, in Surfside.

“Remembrance is an act of love, and that is what today is about,” said Levine Cava.

Officials say they hope to break ground by April, but the date is subject to change.