Cracked Millennium Tower window could be part of larger problems
San Francisco officials were still working Thursday to determine whether a cracked window on the 36th floor of the sinking, tilting Millennium Tower is a one-off incident or a symptom of the building's more serious problems.
The city's Department of Building Inspection sent a field inspector and two structural engineers to the luxury high-rise Thursday morning to take a closer look at the fissure. They were following up on a preliminary assessment conducted by the department Wednesday, said spokesman Bill Strawn.
As a safety precaution, the city's Public Works Department set up sidewalk barricades on Mission Street to prevent pedestrians from straying underneath the area where glass could fall if the window shatters or pops out. Supervisor Aaron Peskin called the issue a "serious public safety concern."
The city's evaluation will be paired with a report on the crack and its causes from Millennium management that's due to inspection department officials by Friday afternoon. The city has asked Millennium to specifically evaluate the condition of the building's so-called curtain wall, or outer facade. The windows are part of the curtain wall.
Deficiencies with the curtain wall could be emblematic of the building's deeper problems. Since it opened in 2009, the tower has sunk by around 18 inches and tilted to one side, prompting grave concerns about the building's structural integrity — and a flurry of lawsuits and finger-pointing over who's to blame.
Millennium homeowner Jerry Dodson, who knows the residents in the unit with the cracked window, said they were jolted awake early Saturday morning by "a loud crash" and saw that their window had cracked.
Dodson and 19 other Millennium residents are suing the tower's developer, Millennium Partners — along with the city inspection department, the city attorney and the Transbay Joint Powers Authority — alleging that the builder and city officials knew that the high-rise was sinking but didn't disclose it to buyers. The city and the developer have denied those allegations.
"If you live in a unit where (the crack) happened, you have to be continually concerned if that's the only window, or just the first," said Dodson.
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