MIAMI — When a 12-story Surfside condominium tower tumbled down last year — killing 98 people in a calamity that made headlines worldwide — South Florida developers kept their distance, choosing not to make an offer for the tragically stained oceanfront property. Instead, thousands of miles away, a billionaire Middle Eastern developer pledged to pay $120 million for the roughly two-acre site where the Champlain Towers South once stood overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. This past week, as the lone bidder, Dubai-based DAMAC Properties Inc. made the land purchase official. In a quiet closing, DAMAC …
