Damac Unveils Plans For $15M 'Mansions In The Sky' On Surfside Collapse Site
Dubai-based Damac Properties has launched sales at The Delmore, its luxury condo development set to rise on the site where the Champlain Towers South collapsed, killing 98 people.
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The developer's international arm, Damac International, has started construction on the project, where the 37 units, referred to as “mansions in the sky,” will range between 7K SF and 10K SF with prices starting at $15M.
Douglas Elliman was tapped as the broker for the 12-story development on the 2-acre waterfront site at 8777 Collins Ave., which was designed by London-based Zaha Hadid Architects.
The developer made no mention of the history of the site in its announcement of The Delmore's branding and sales launch despite it being the location of one of the deadliest building accidents in U.S. history.
“We appreciate the site’s past and have approached this development with respect and sensitivity,” Jeffery Rossely, senior vice president of development for Damac, said in an email. “That said, we believe that what happened to the previously troubled structure has nothing to do with the future of the site and what we plan to develop.”
Each unit will be served by residential butlers, and the building is set to offer a private restaurant for owners and their guests. Alongside 200 linear feet of beachfront, The Delmore will include 55K SF of amenities and will feature a 75-foot-long swimming pool suspended 125 feet in the air.
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Damac reached a $120M deal to purchase the residential waterfront property in October 2021, just three months after the collapse, following a court-approved auction in which it was the only bidder.
Damac, led by Hussain Sajwani, began clearing the site in June 2023, ABCNews reported, and expects to deliver the project by 2029.
The developer's release said construction on the project has commenced, and Rossely said so far the remnants of the collapsed towers have been cleared, water has been removed and deep wells have been dug for drainage. The next step, set to commence in February or March, is preparing the site for vertical construction. Damac is using a process called deep soil mixing, expected to take about 10 to 12 months.
“This is the meticulous, roughly year-long process of us preparing the site for heavy foundation work,” Rossely wrote. “The method not only reduces vibrations, but establishes an impermeable barrier to prevent groundwater intrusion.”
That process will create a two-story basement, after which vertical construction can commence, Rossely said.
There is no plan to memorialize the 98 lives lost in the building, but the town of Surfside has dedicated a site across 88th Street from The Delmore for the construction of a public memorial, which has not yet commenced.
Residents will receive a book documenting the rise of The Delmore site and paying tribute to the tragedy, Rossely said.
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Martin Langesfeld, a Miami real estate broker who lost his sister and her husband in the tragedy, emphasized that prioritizing safety, accountability, and the inclusion of a memorial are critical to properly honoring the 98 lives lost.
"It is unacceptable that this project is moving forward while the federal investigation remains incomplete and the land’s safety is still uncertain," Langesfeld wrote in an email. "How can federal and local governments allow development on a site where 98 people were killed without knowing why it collapsed?"
After conducting investigations and testing at the property, Damac concluded that the site was not the cause of the tragic collapse, but the former building. The federal investigation into the collapse is ongoing, but last year investigators zeroed in on leaks at the Champlain Towers South's pool deck as a possible root cause for the building's failure.
The fatal collapse caused a reckoning in the state — years of deferred maintenance by the condo association spurred realizations that many other buildings could be unsafe and didn't have enough reserves to cover needed repairs.
State lawmakers the next year passed Senate Bill 4-D, which requires condo associations at buildings more than 30 years old to conduct regular structural inspections and fully fund reserves for major repairs. The deadline for these reserves hit Dec. 31.
The site’s history is not expected to impact the sales for the ultra-luxury residences, Rossely said.
“Buyers will have confidence in a new building that is properly and meticulously constructed,” Rossely said. “To that end, we are assured that all facets of our design and construction will be extremely well received, as evidenced by the fact that we started construction prior to the project being formally launched.”
While The Delmore is Damac's first real estate debut in the U.S., it is not intended to be the last.
Just three weeks ago, President Donald Trump announced that Damac would invest $20B in U.S. data centers, planning to expand across the Sun Belt and Midwest.
UPDATE, JAN. 30, 12:30 P.M. ET: This story has been updated to include commentary from Langesfeld, whose sister died in the collapse of Champlain Towers South.