A five-year federal investigation costing nearly $40 million has concluded that design and construction flaws caused the Champlain Towers South collapse that killed 98 people in Surfside. The findings landed Monday, June 22, two days before families gathered for the fifth anniversary with no permanent memorial built and no one criminally charged.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology, or NIST, determined the collapse began about three weeks before the building fell on June 24, 2021, when two connections between garage columns and the pool deck failed. NIST co-lead Glenn Bell said the building suffered from "severe and widespread deviations in the building's original structural design from the codes and standards of the day." Heavy planters, sand and pavers added to the pool deck over the building's lifetime further diminished safety margins, as did long-term corrosion. The agency used two dozen computer simulations to reach its conclusions.

NIST will issue a final report with recommendations for changes to building codes. Local prosecutors say any criminal probe must wait until that report is complete. No one has been charged.

Families gather, push for accountability

The Town of Surfside held its fifth annual remembrance ceremony on Wednesday, June 24, at 10 a.m. at the corner of 88th Street and Collins Avenue. Hours earlier, at 1:15 a.m., residents and family members gathered for the annual Lighting of the Torch at the exact time the 12-story condominium partially collapsed.

Martin Langesfeld, 28, whose newlywed sister Nicole and brother-in-law Luis Sadovnic died in the collapse, has become one of the most outspoken family advocates. "We've been fighting nonstop for a memorial, and we haven't broken ground on anything," Langesfeld told the Miami Herald. "It's just a complete lack of respect to the victims and the families fighting for this." The town presented Langesfeld with a Key to the Town in April.

Memorial stalled at $3.55 million budget

Construction of a permanent memorial, planned for the east end of 88th Street directly north of the collapse site, has not begun. In April, Surfside elected officials voted to reduce the project cost from $5.5 million to less than $3.6 million to avoid triggering a town-wide voter referendum.

Acting Town Manager Mario Diaz said officials are working to modify the project scope to keep costs at the $3.55 million commission-approved budget. No groundbreaking date has been announced. Federal investigators returned rubble from the collapse site to the town earlier in 2026 for use in the memorial's construction.

What happened to the site

The two-acre property was sold for $120 million to Dubai-based DAMAC Properties, which hired Zaha Hadid Architects to design a luxury tower with units starting at $15 million. More than a year after sales launched, not a single unit has sold, according to the Wall Street Journal. DAMAC has made inquiries about selling the site.

Condo safety law hits barrier-island owners

Two relief bills signed into law in June 2025 gave condo associations across Miami Beach, Surfside, Bal Harbour and Bay Harbor Islands a two-year pause in reserve fund contributions so they could prioritize critical repairs. The bills followed Florida's Building Safety Act, adopted in May 2022, which requires buildings of three or more stories to complete structural integrity reserve studies and milestone inspections once they reach 30 years old, or 25 years if within three miles of the coast.

Raquel Oliveira, 46, whose husband Alfredo Leone and 5-year-old son Lorenzo died in the collapse, has led a small group of families advocating for the memorial. The victims ranged in age from 1 to 92 and represented 14 nationalities. More than $1 billion in civil settlements have been reached, according to NPR and court records.

A temporary memorial banner listing victims' names hangs on a fence at Veterans Park, across the street from where the building once stood.