Demolishing Champlain Towers South? Expert Says It's Going To Be Complicated

MIAMI (CBSMiami) - As talk of demolishing what remains standing of the Champlain Towers South, the owner of a well-known South Florida demolition company says it is going to be a complicated operation because the building is so unstable.

On Thursday, the county mayor talked about bringing it down.

"Is it better to take it off in layers or demolish it all at once? There are so many factors that go into it," said Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.

How long to accomplish? Varying opinions, two weeks, up to a month, but according to the owner-operator of Demolition Masters, a Coral Gables company that has been taking down buildings for 40 years, it could be complicated and lengthy.

"I think it is impossible to prepare that building for dynamite because to prepare a building for dynamite, you have to be inside, have to open holes to the columns and put cables in," said Adonay Almeida.

According to Almeida, the building is unstable, rescue work halted this week because the building shifted, So how to do a safe demolition?

"That building is only 12 stories, floors. They can use a big excavator with long arms and grapples and scissors for the rebar and bring it down little by little, being very careful taking it down," said Almeida.

"Normally to demolish, there is major paperwork permits needed," he adds.
"That will probably be waived in order to speed the job. Maybe the actual job could take a month or with luck, maybe they can do it in a couple of weeks with the right equipment, which they have there. They can't use a wrecking ball, no dynamite. No nothing."

It will be a delicate and sensitive operation. The City of Surfside has the jurisdiction but the mayor says he will defer the decision to Mayor Cava.