The potential issues began with where Champlain Towers was constructed. An academic study found the building had been sinking two millimeters per year since the 1990s due to subsidence, or settling of the ground in what was once a marshland area.
As the Champlain Towers were being raised in 1980, developers asked the town for permission to add an extra floor to the two original buildings (a third was added in 1991). After early opposition from Surfside officials, the developers were allowed to add the penthouse units.
