To the editor:

We condo dwellers have been chilled at the collapse of Champlain Towers in Surfside, Florida, and the suggestion that nearby construction was a contributory factor.

The story has special significance for those of us in the West End section of Alexandria. A developer is proposing to convert the parking lot of an existing building into 230 additional dwellings. Our mayor is committed to maximum development, density and scale in Alexandria, a contentious issue for some. Our building and others in Condo Canyon are well over 40 years old.

Can our building and others here withstand construction on this scale and as aggressive as this will be, requiring piledriving to construct two underground parking levels? And yes, we will miss the 30 trees that will have to be destroyed for construction. What impact that might have on stormwater drainage, I do not know.

-Sandra Buerle, Alexandria