What will happen to the Surfside building collapse site? - CNN

And he's worried about what's in store for the site of the collapse, which has killed at least 97 people.

Rosenthal still owes money on the two-bedroom condo he bought 20 years ago, and wants a solution that provides the fastest financial recovery for the survivors and victims' families.

"I lost everything, my life is totally upside down, people I called friends are gone," he told CNN.

The judge said this week that proceeds from the sale should go directly to the survivors and victims' families.

Some relatives of victims have said they don't want another condo building erected on the site.

"I'm not saying to not sell the land.

But Langesfeld said he'd prefer to see Miami-Dade County or another government agency buy the land and not build new condos on it so that "the victims' families get the dignity and respect we're looking for."

He added, "Would you want to live where your family died?"

Soriya Cohen, whose husband, Brad Cohen, perished in the condo collapse, also said she doesn't want a new building erected on the property.

Many of the building's victims were Jewish.

But under Jewish burial laws, the site would not be considered sacred if human remains found there were relocated, said Michael Berenbaum, a Los Angeles rabbi and Jewish scholar who focuses on memorials.

Berenbaum said that what ultimately becomes of the property "is a social and political decision, not a religious decision."

But others want new homes on the site

In a sign of how divisive the issue is, several condo owners asked the judge at a hearing this week to allow a developer to erect a new building on the site.

"Survivors have expressed different opinions about what to do with the land, with some suggesting that it should be sold to local or state government, and some wanting to sell to a private developer to rebuild on the site so they can move back to the place they still consider their home."

Burkett said he's been in constant conversations with the victims' families.

One option could be a compromise -- a memorial alongside a new residential building for people who wish to return to living at the site, he said.

"Pulse nightclub is hallowed ground," said President Joe Biden, who signed the bill days later.

Despite calls to turn the Surfside site into a memorial, the survivors and families of the victims will not be asked to donate their shares of the property, Judge Hanzman said.

"These victims who have lost their homes, their personal belongings, and in many cases their lives are not going to be sacrificing the value of their real estate for the public good," said Hanzman, who is overseeing the civil lawsuits filed in the wake of the collapse.

"This court's task and your task is to compensate the victims of this tragedy, period," he told attorneys at a hearing this week.

Whatever happens, he won't move back to the Surfside site

Meanwhile, Rosenthal and other survivors of the collapse are trying to rebuild their lives.