San Francisco's Millennium Tower Continues Sinking As Legal Fees Mount
San Francisco's Millennium Tower continues leaning and sinking, all while costing the Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA) millions of dollars in legal fees. The organization is fighting claims that their practices conducted during the construction of the Transbay Transit Center caused the building’s structural issues that are manifesting themselves today.
The Millennium Tower was one of the most expensive condominium developments on the West Coast but it is expected to tilt another 10 inches by 2019. When the property closed all new sales back in 2013, the tower earned $750 million in revenue. The average price tag on a unit was $1.8 million, and penthouses went for as high as $9.8 million. NFL quarterback Joe Montana was among those who purchased a condo and have since tried desperately to sell it.
Homeowners support a fix to the leaning and sinking issues that would cost $150 million. The plan would include driving 150 concrete and steel piles into the bedrock layer that lies 200 feet under the building.
The TJPA has already paid $3.5 million in legal fees. The San Francisco Business Journal reports that TJPA officials believe costs will eventually be covered by the contractors who built the transit center or by the insurance companies.