SF's sinking Millennium Tower work was halted 'months' too late, expert says /problems selling units

[Demovictory9]

The troubles at the Millennium Tower, which is currently leaning at a tilt of approximately 22 inches toward its northwest corner, has provoked damning criticism from an expert.


Work on the "perimeter pile upgrade" fix was halted on Aug. 23 after reports showed that the construction was making the sinking worse. The tower sunk another inch in just a few weeks in the early summer.

A chart obtained by KPIX reportedly now shows that this accelerated sinking started as early as mid-May, though work was not halted until over three months later.

Geotechnical engineer Robert Pyke told the outlet this week that the work should have been stopped months earlier. “Certainly by the end of June, it was obvious that there was additional settlement as a result of installing the casings and the piles,” Pyke noted.

"Any responsible engineer should have called a halt," he added, stating that he believes the continuation of construction for two more months caused more damage.

https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/sinking-millennium-tower-fix-too-late-16517457.php


"The HOA has always made clear that although the voluntary upgrade was not required, it is interested in restoring the building’s reputation, damaged primarily by erroneous media reports," Hamburger said.

This reputation may also be affecting the value of the condos in the luxury high-rise. KPIX reported that 13 listings in the tower either expired or were taken off the market this year.

[msongs]

1. sounds like a planned demolition is in the cards nt

[TexasTowelie]

4. I agree.

The building already has a poor reputation so they will have to offer reduced rents compared to what they believed when the construction loans were obtained. The building could be foreclosed upon.

No matter who the owner is, at some point the cost of rehabilitating the tower will exceed what they can make up in rental occupancy down the road. With the price of construction escalating throughout the country while rental income is falling, it does seem like a prudent move to accept the losses, cut the strings, and move forward.

Meanwhile, having worked in insurance, it makes me wonder whether if an insurance underwriter properly assessed the risk when they wrote that policy. I'm reasonably certain that whomever wrote that policy will object to the property be declared as uninhabitable. This is the type of case lawyers live for.

[Demobrat]

6. It's not an apartment building.

It’s condos. If it’s torn down all the individual owners will lose their homes.

[TexasTowelie]

8. Well, since we are considering "what if" scenarios,

what if the tower collapses like the condo building in Miami, how many individual owners will lose their lives?

I'm sympathetic to the plight of the owners of the individual condo units who will lose their homes. Unfortunately the condo owners are in the weakest position of all the parties, but if their homes no longer become habitable because the city cuts off the utilities and other condemnation proceedings occur then they stand to lose their homes anyway. When they bought the condo units they probably thought that the units would appreciate in value in case they wanted to sell later and I suspect that most of them have taken a loss (on paper).

However, these owners could face a legion of attorneys and public officials if they refused to sell their property. I think that I would take any decent offer to avoid the potential headaches that may occur over the next few years such as construction, litigation, construction delays caused by litigation, etc.

[Chainfire]

9. And, if it self-destructs, with them in it, they lose their homes and their lives.

This is a case where decisions should be left to engineers, not politicians or desperate home owners. If the engineers say that it is unsafe, bring it down.

[Demobrat]

14. I have no problem with that.

I don’t want to see it collapse in the next earthquake.

[CountAllVotes]

2. Another *burp* from ye ol' San Andreas like the Loma Prieta

and you are finished San Francisco, I barely knew ye

Bunch of damned idiots that built this monstrosity!

You should not build on a bunch landfill of ships, shanghaied dead folks and junk!

[Demobrat]

3. Erroneous media reports?

The building is sinking and tilting. My friend was a concierge there. She said you have to step down into the lobby when you come in off the street. I doubt if it was designed that way.

[CountAllVotes]

5. ...

[DFW]

7. The Leaning Tower of Queasy

I wouldn't want to be the building's neighbor, much less occupant.

[Klaralven]

10. 645 foot cast-in-place concrete building on mud in San Francisco? What could go wrong?

The development was the first high rise built downtown in 20 years. According to Modern Luxury, a proposed 52-story skyscraper at nearby 80 Natoma by developer Jack Myers which would also have a similar cast in place concrete construction, was rejected by the city's Department of Building Inspections (DBI) after an outside peer review. The Millennium Tower received no such scrutiny, since Millennium Partners would not submit to a peer review, as that study would have potentially delayed construction by years.[24] Treadwell & Rollo, the geotechnical engineer for Millennium Tower, were also the geotechnical engineer for the scrapped project at 80 Natoma.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_Tower_(San_Francisco)

[Blues Heron]

11. whats the angle of tilt?

is 22 inches the lateral displacement at the top? or is one corner of the building 22 inches lower?

[Demovictory9]

12. 22 iinches at top

[Blues Heron]

13. Thanks