Beleaguered 545ft Millennium Tower in SF has $100M fix to halt 22-inch lean ...

Beleaguered 545ft Millennium Tower in SF has $100M fix to halt 22-inch lean ...
Beleaguered 545ft Millennium Tower in SF has $100M fix to halt 22-inch lean ...

A ritzy San Francisco condo tower that leans 22 inches has had repair work halted after holes drilled to fix its tilt were allegedly made too large. 

The 545-foot, 58-story Millennium Tower has been sinking since its completion in 2009, and has subsided more than 18 inches along its base.

But a $100 million attempt to right the tilt caused it to sink a further 1.3 inches on its northwest side, with San Francisco's Department of Building Inspections ordering work to stop last Friday.

The latest chapter in the leaning saga began after crews started to install two-foot-wide piles - which are support beams used to create a stable foundation for heavy buildings - into the bedrock. 

Engineers have likened the technique being used to that of a jack being propped under a car to change a flat tire.  

A total of 39 piles were installed between May and late August, with 250 planned for installation along the building's north and west perimeter to fix the tilt. 

But during this time, the building sunk another inch, causing it to lean even further.

The issue has also caused the building to lean 22 inches toward Fremont Street.

The holes for the piles were allegedly drilled too big, causing soil underneath the building to shift to fill the newly-drilled voids, making its lean even more pronounced. This was the suspected cause for the accelerated sinking, according to city officials.  

Despite the latest developments, city officials say the building, which has seen apartments sell for up to $13 million, it still structurally sound, and have not ordered it to be evacuated.  

Residents were first informed of the issue in 2016, and launched a flurry of lawsuits, one of which resulted in the currently-paused remedial work.  

San Francisco's 545-foot Millennium Tower construction is halted after it sunk another inch, causing the building to now lean 22 inches toward Fremont Street

San Francisco's 545-foot Millennium Tower construction is halted after it sunk another inch, causing the building to now lean 22 inches toward Fremont Street 

The building has sunk 17-18 inches since 2009 and could sink as much as 31 inches or more. It sits to the right of San Francisco's tallest skyscraper, the Salesforce Tower

The building has sunk 17-18 inches since 2009 and could sink as much as 31 inches or more. It sits to the right of San Francisco's tallest skyscraper, the Salesforce Tower 

The building's well-off residents include former San Francisco 49er Joe Montana, Giants outfielder Hunter Pence and venture capitalist Tom Perkins, who died shortly after selling his penthouse for $13m in 2016.

In 2016, the geotechnical engineer leading the investigation, Pat Shires, suspected the building could sink between 24 to 31 inches. 

Chris Jeffries, a founding partner at Millennium Partners, blamed the tower's structural issues due to the adjacent Transbay Join Powers Authority transit hub in 2016. 

That site also includes San Francisco's tallest building, the Salesforce Tower.  

Workers repair crumbling, water-damaged walls in the building in 2017. The 58-story building soil allegedly suffered from excess water after an adjacent transit hub pumped millions of gallons of water out

Workers repair crumbling, water-damaged walls in the building in 2017. The 58-story building soil allegedly suffered from excess water after an adjacent transit hub pumped millions of gallons of water out 

The luxurious high-rise has been suffering from many structural issues since it opened in 2009, including water-damaged (pictured) and stress fissures on the 38th floor

The luxurious high-rise has been suffering from many structural issues since it opened in 2009, including water-damaged (pictured) and stress fissures on the 38th floor  

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