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San Francisco officials on Friday asked Millennium Tower management not to resume construction to repair the skyscraper’s tilt and sinking until the city reviews an updated construction approach. day.
Work was halted last month after the tower at 301 Mission Street moved up another inch as workers placed piles to support the foundations, as part of a $ 100 million plan to repair the building.
“In the interest of all concerned, please refrain from resuming construction” until the review, wrote on Friday Patrick O’Riordan, acting director of the city’s Building Inspection Department, in a letter to James Zaratin, general manager of the tower. DBI shared the letter with The Chronicle.
The city’s request came after an engineering report found that the sinking of the building had stopped after work was halted, and it is likely that construction caused the accelerated settling. City officials support this theory, as well as the report’s conclusion that the tower is structurally safe, O’Riordan wrote.
Doug Elmets, spokesperson for the Millennium Tower management, confirmed that construction will remain on hiatus.
“Construction will resume with modifications to drilling methods as soon as specific construction modification options are finalized” with city approval, he said.
This is the final puzzle for the struggling tower, which was completed in 2009. The Chronicle reported in 2016 that it was sinking and tilting, triggering lawsuits and blame.
The city sent inspectors to the tower last month and found no visible changes from a March 2021 inspection. They concluded the building remains habitable and has not issued any code violations.
O’Riordan said the engineering team “is now developing options on how the Millennium Tower Association can continue with the renovations with the ultimate goal of limiting settlement of the building and ensuring its long-term stability. “.
The tower has housed the rich and famous, including former 49ers star Joe Montana and late venture capitalist Tom Perkins. The most expensive condos have sold for over $ 10 million.
Millennium Partners owners and developers moved in in 2020, accepting repair work that included 52 concrete piles to stabilize the building down to bedrock. The owners also received between 25 and 40% of the value of their condo before the sinking was disclosed. The value of the settlement was not disclosed.
The tower was built on soft clay, and its original foundation did not extend into bedrock, unlike some of the newer skyscrapers nearby, such as the Salesforce Tower.
Millennium Partners initially blamed the sinking on the construction of the nearby transit center of Transbay, citing the “drying up” that weakened the soil. The Transbay Joint Powers Authority, the government agency behind the transit hub, has strongly denied that this is the cause.
While the 2020 settlement did not assign blame or determine the cause of the sinking, the Transbay Joint Powers Authority paid $ 30 million in public money as part of the settlement to protect against future lawsuits.
In 2015, Millennium Partners obtained approval for another ultra-luxurious skyscraper at 706 Mission St., just half a mile west and on the same street as Millennium Tower. The developer then withdrew after the sinking and tipping revelations and another builder, Westbrook Partners, completed the building. Last year, Steph Curry bought a nearly $ 8 million condo in the tower.
Roland Li is a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @rolandlisf
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