Investigations, Finger Pointing Continue Over Millennium Tower
Problems keep mounting for the Millennium Tower and Transbay Transit Center. The San Francisco County Transportation Authority has now delayed $6.8M in funds for phase 2 of the Transbay Transit Center until questions about the sinking and tilting Millennium Tower are answered, according to SF Gate.
Earlier this week, Millennium homeowners hired soil experts to drill six-inch holes to test water and soil conditions under the high-rise and measure the building’s tilt. The test will go on for three weeks. Homeowners have previously submitted lawsuits against Millennium Partners and Transbay Joint Powers Authority.
Millennium Partners has received a subpoena from San Francisco city attorney Dennis Harris as part of the city’s investigation into how and why the tower is sinking and tilting, reports CBS SF BayArea. The developer continues to point the finger at the Transbay Terminal construction site, claiming the site’s groundwater pumping led to excessive settlement underneath the high-rise.
Millennium Partners has fought back against claims of wrongdoing, saying it is not the only one in the city to build above dense sand, according to the San Francisco Business Times. The developer claims Embarcadero Center, SFMOMA and several other buildings were also built into the Colma Foundation.
San Francisco officials also could be in hot water. A Department of Building Inspection official testified last week that the DBI may have known about the sinking as far back as 2009.
