The construction company that built the condo went out of business some 20 years ago and original developer is long dead as would any or most of the gov’t officials or inspectors long retired or dead as well.
I’m not buying your argument that without anyone noticing, crews came in to do a controlled demolition. A controlled demolition would for one thing not have gone unnoticed and would cost as much or if not more than any lawsuit over overlooked code violations stemming from 1980.
Yes, I know that this building was put up quite a long time ago. But please don’t overlook the possibility of an institutional cover-up. County officials have a motivation to protect not just themselves, but their offices.
I am not saying that this is the case here, or even that it’s likely to be the case. But by golly, I will no longer accept everything the government says or does at face value. I will always wonder, at least a little bit.