Millennium Tower & the Surfside, Florida, condominium catastrophe.

San Francisco CA

Description

The 58-story luxury high-rise was revealed to be... tilting. In May 2016 residents were informed that the main tower that housed their luxury condos was sinking. The foundation at 301 Mission was built into deep, dense sand but not bedrock, unlike most downtown towers. (Though many other large downtown buildings are also constructed in the same way including the Embarcadero Center, the SF MOMA, the Marriott and 101 California.) The high-profile ordeal may be more relevant in the wake of the Surfside, Florida, condominium catastrophe. “These people were lying in bed comfortably at night with no warning whatsoever,” said Jernigan. “Our hearts just go out.” Attorney Niall McCarthy represented about a hundred of the Millennium Tower’s residents who saw their property values plummet. “We had a high rise that was sinking and tilting,” he said. “It affects people’s peace of mind.” McCarthy said under an agreed settlement, residents received a significant portion of their losses. Ronald O. Hamburger, the senior principal engineer at Simpson Gumpertz Heger, revealed a final resolution to the Millennium Tower's sinking problem that involves underpinning the building. The solution, likened to putting a bumper jack next to a flat tire, will involve the installation of 52 piles along the north and west sides of the tower. The piles will be beneath the sidewalk, 250 feet into the bedrock of downtown San Francisco, and be tied with the original 60-90-feet-deep foundation piles. The plan estimates that about 50% of the tilt will be evened out over a period of 10 years as the south and eastern sides of the building come back into re-alignment with the sunken north and western sides. The remaining south and eastern sides of the building will then be anchored to the bedrock, permanently resolving the problem. The fix will cost about $100 million. The blame game and many, many lawsuits began. The building's homeowners association sued the main contractor Webcor and the developer Millennium Partners. The city of San Francisco also filed suit against the tower's developers. The developer blamed the problem on the Transbay Joint Powers Authority, which was responsible for construction of the neighboring Transbay Transit Center. All suits were later consolidated into a global agreement that is expected to be finalized next month. As of 2018 the sinking had increased to 18 inches with a lean of 14 inches. Then came the cracking. Residents reported hearing various "creaking sounds," and then a "popping sound" at around 2:30 a.m. on the morning of Sept. 8, 2018. The following day, a resident living in a corner unit on the 36th floor found a cracked window across glass that was rated to withstand hurricane-force winds. Concerns that the creaking, popping and cracking were another symptom of the structural failure grew. A report conducted on behalf of the tower’s managers, blamed the crack on an “exterior impact,” but gave no indication as to what might have struck the window. Later that year, a solution to the blighted building's tilt was finally proposed. Instead, the foundation was built into deep sand, experts determined that adjacent projects and a process called dewatering had weakened the soil under the tower, causing it to sink. The high-profile ordeal may be more relevant in the wake of the Surfside, Florida, condominium catastrophe. “These people were lying in bed comfortably at night with no warning whatsoever,” said Jernigan. “Our hearts just go out.” Attorney Niall McCarthy represented about a hundred of the Millennium Tower’s residents who saw their property values plummet. “We had a high rise that was sinking and tilting,” he said. “It affects people’s peace of mind.” McCarthy said under an agreed settlement, residents received a significant portion of their losses. In a statement to CNN, the building’s engineer said, “Any potential comparisons between Surfside and the Millennium Tower would be reckless and premature,” adding that the building was designed with earthquake resistance, remains safe, and is in no danger of collapse. The $100 million fix is set to be completed next year. Jernigan and Faulk won’t be there to see its completion. “We got our suitcases. We put everything in and we left,” Faulk said. Even with all the problems, people continue to buy and sell units inside the building. According to the plan, the engineering project underway isn’t designed to repair any of the damage to the Millennium Tower.