Repairs of sf millenial tower halted after it sinks an inch in one week!!

[Demovictory9]

https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/Millennium-Tower-sinking-repairs-cracks-sf-16410954.php?IPID=SFGate-HP-CP-Spotlight



San Francisco's Millennium Tower fix halted after further sinking observed


Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
The major construction fix to stop San Francisco's beleaguered Millennium Tower from sinking further into the earth has been halted after the building suddenly sunk another inch within a few weeks, as first reported by NBC Bay Area.

The $100 million “perimeter pile upgrade” project began in November, and was seen as a final resolution to the lopsided building's woes after an inspection in 2018 revealed the northwest corner had descended at least 18 inches into the bay fill at Mission and Fremont streets.

The fix has been likened to putting a bumper jack next to a flat tire, and involves the installation of piles 250 feet deep along the north and west sides of the tower, to be tied beneath the sidewalk to the original foundation.


That plan has now been put on pause after the unexpected sinking observed in recent weeks.

NBC's report claims that after thirty-nine piles of the 52 piles had been installed, something then went "seriously wrong." That alleged sudden drop of an inch on the Fremont Street side occurred after crews had reportedly drilled half way down to bedrock to install new piles, and translates to five inches of lean on the 58th floor.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

1. It's a lot bigger than that condo building in Florida. NT

[Demovictory9]

2. its huuuuge

[MyOwnPeace]

3. It's a good thing that the RepubliQans want.....

to do away with too much 'government regulation' - otherwise we could have building collapsing and people be poisoned by polluted water and killed by collapsing dams and ...........

[Celerity]

4. If I lived in that motherfucker, I would be OUT OUT OUT

[Arkansas Granny]

7. Me, too. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. Just leave.

[Demovictory9]

12. couple highlighted on.60.min.a few yrs ago..sold at loss and left

I respect their decision. They couldnt tolerate living in the bldg

[PoliticAverse]

18. I'd love to see the real estate listing for that one....

Condo in beautiful high rise building with evolving views. Motivated seller.

[NameAlreadyTaken]

26. Act now, this one won't last long!

[Demovictory9]

34. Sales arent brisk. One sold in july after price cut

https://www.zillow.com/san-francisco-ca/sold/

[ailsagirl]

21. Grotesque!!! 😬😳🤭

[kimbutgar]

5. In 2015 I helped move a couple in the millennium towers

And before the news came out. When we put a box on the floor it slid a little across the floor. We kept doing this and noticed it happened several times. We laughed saying it’s probably a ghost. But it kind of freaked me out. I wasn’t surprised when I heard about the sinking considering it was built on landfill not solid rock.

[PoliticAverse]

6. I dunno but maybe if it starts sinking more you want to hurry up the stop sinking project

rather than stop it.

[JHB]

14. It's when you decide whether to continue the "stop sinking" project or...

...or start the "begin dismantling" project.

When a fundamental part of the building's foundation is not acting as anticipated in the plans, you have to decide whether a fix will actually fix it, or if it needs to come down so it's not a hazard to everything in the area.

[smirkymonkey]

31. I have a feeling that building is doomed.

Even if it doesn't collapse, if it is the perception of most buyers/investors that it eventualy will, they will avoid it like the plague and it's doomed all the same. They might as well just pull the plug and write it off.

[JHB]

32. Precisely

Even if reinforcement can correct the flaws in its design, lack of faith that changes will sufficiently compensate for it will be quite sufficient to doom it in terms of economic viability.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

36. I'm guessing that the "stop sinking" project, ramming i-beams into the earth, ...

... might create vibrations that cause the building to sink faster.

It's a race to some kind of finish.

[lagomorph777]

40. That's what I was thinking.

[PoliticAverse]

41. Disturbing the already unstable sand might indeed make the problem worse before it gets better.

A literal race to the bottom.

[Klaralven]

43. Maybe they disturbed a void in the landfill

[lpbk2713]

8. I wouldn't want to be anywhere near it.

Last edited Wed Aug 25, 2021, 08:42 PM - Edit history (1)

I would jump at every loud noise or tremor.

[Ligyron]

38. But think what a great tourist attraction it could become

[PoliticAverse]

42. I used to work in a 51 story very thin building in New York City. During high wind days...

you'd hear creaks, clicks and pops all day. It was like being in a movie on an old wooden ship.

[Auggie]

9. Note to self: stay the hell away from Mission and Fremont

[Demovictory9]

13. I would.hate living in.bldg on leaning side

[Auggie]

15. Got earthquakes to think about too

I lived in S.F for 18 years. Loved it! But I also lived under the threat of seismic activity, experiencing one large one in 1989 and few small rollers after and before. Leaving, admittedly, was a bit of relief.

San Francisco will be Hell on Earth when The Big One strikes. Ground zero just might be Mission and Fremont.

[PoliticAverse]

16. So today I learned they are building skyscrapers in a earthquake zone on sand...

The foundation at 301 Mission was built into deep, dense sand but not bedrock, unlike other downtown towers. (Though many other large downtown buildings are also constructed in the same way, including the Embarcadero Center, SFMOMA, the Marriott and 101 California.)

[Auggie]

19. That's nuts. I worked next door to 101 California for three years ...

watched it being built from the ground up. Also worked in Embacadero Center.

That's why I was happy to leave San Francisco.

[Hekate]

27. Oh hell yes

[brush]

10. They're going to have to tear it down. The insurance payouts will be humongous.

There will be bankruptcies. And considering it's in San Francisco where earthquakes are not that unusual, the tear down should start soon.

[AllaN01Bear]

11. this reminds me of a tv show called " thunderbirds " epi called terror in nyc

moving the empire state building and it collapses . hem . but this building is standing still.

[JHB]

17. Ask and ye shall receive

[cinematicdiversions]

25. Oh Man I am not going to get any work done now. NT

[JHB]

29. Well, not for 48 minutes, anyways

Which, as I write this, should be for the next ~ 20 minutes.

[dickthegrouch]

30. Aaaahhhhh memories

Thank you. I haven’t seen that show in forever.

[muriel_volestrangler]

39. The classic line - "The masks! Put the masks on!"

has been in my mind for over a year now.

[Demovictory9]

45. Hilarious to see puppets smoking

[PortTack]

20. The repairs are to sink the pylons into the granite which should have be done in the first place

Tallest bldg in SF and they thought it would be “okay” to not go down to the granite..simply amazing!

[localroger]

24. There is no way to tear down a building this size. They will have to implode it.

Not that much of a risk to be on the "lee" side of its tilt since it will come straight down, as 9/11 demonstrated. But yeah a lot of bad ideas went into building it and apparently those same bad ideas went into the building of some other SF skyscrapers. That will make a hell of a dent in an already weird SF real estate market.

[Brother Buzz]

35. The bedrock is a dirty Franciscan Complex sandstone (greywacke)

The only granite you're going to find in the Bay Area is west of the San Andreas fault, like the granite found out at point Reyes which originated in the Baja California region. Of course there's a boatload of granite in the Sierra, but that's totally another story.

[Martin68]

22. Evacuate the sucker and tear it down.

[Celerity]

28. +10000000000000000

[barbtries]

23. eek

my son's best friend since grade school lives there. he just got married, is 29 years old, and I really hope he moves out of there!

[Withywindle]

33. OK that's terrifying

I am not an architect or an engineer so I don't know exactly HOW terrifying, but I would not want to be anywhere near that building, much less in it.

[ecstatic]

37. Time to evacuate. NT

[ripcord]

44. Why weren't the piling required to be set into bedrock instead of sand

And how many others were built to that code?