THEY KNEW

April Letter Warned Doomed Miami Condo Tower Damage Was Rapidly Worsening

Residents were told three months ago that they faced a possible $15.5 million bill to repair concrete work in the building’s foundations.

The serious structural damage that was first flagged three years before the deadly collapse of a Miami condo complex last week had significantly worsened by April of this year, according to a damning letter from the president of the residents’ association. USA Today obtained the letter that was sent by Jean Wodnicki, who survived the disaster last Friday. She told residents that a 2018 inspection noted a “major error” in the design of the building, and that “the observable damage such as in the garage has gotten significantly worse” since that survey. “When you can visually see the concrete spalling (cracking), that means that the rebar holding it together is rusting and deteriorating beneath the surface,” she wrote. Wodnicki also told residents that they faced a possible $15.5 million bill to repair concrete work in the building’s foundations. Payments were due to begin a week after the building’s collapse. As of Tuesday morning, the death toll stands at 11 and 150 people are missing.