Have you heard about the Leaning Tower?
Yes, you might say. Almost everybody knows about the learning tower of Pisa in Italy, which is slowly sinking on one side. And yes, you would be right. But what if I were to tell you that I am not talking about Pisa but about San Francisco! One day it may also become a major tourist attraction but that is the last thing on the minds of those (26) afflicted by the sinking Millennium Tower in San Francisco.
The tower is a 58 storey residential building and is considered one of the top residential buildings in the world and boasts to be the home of some of the richest people in America. The prices of apartments in the tower (27) spanned from $1.6 million to more than $10 million.
But it’s sinking. And it’s not only sinking at an alarming rate – 16 inches since its completion in 2008 – it’s also sinking unevenly and has begun to lean. ‘That’s significant … and of concern’, said Professor Greg Deierlein, director of the John A. Blume Earthquake Engineering Center at Stanford University.
What happens as a building begins to lean is that walls can crack and elevators might (28) break down . While it’s expected that high-rises will sink over extended periods of time, the sinking of the Millennium Tower is quite unusual and was expected to sink only about six inches over its life span. ‘It started off small, and by 2009 the (29) incline was only two inches’, says Pete, who was
one of the first to move into the tower. ‘I assume the tilt of the Tower of Pisa started out small too and no one noticed at first’, he says. At the same time one of the apartments has gone on the market for almost double what the current owner paid in 2011, at $3.23 million.
Others are selling their apartments for less than they paid for them but they find there are no buyers, even at bargain prices. ‘It’s really disturbing’ says Jill, who now says her apartment has zero value because no one wants to buy it. ‘If you can’t sell it, then it’s really worth nothing’, she says. When we visited the agent, who listed Jill’s property for sale, we were impressed by the
(30) features of the apartment which included a superb view with over 250 metres of living space and a garage for one car. We asked the agent why the apartment was still listed for sale if there are no buyers. The agent was quick to point out that someone may wish to buy it despite the problems. ‘After all, it is going for a bargain price and there is always the possibility that a solution to the problem will be found and the property will once again (31) regain its true value’.
Perhaps the agent is also aware of the rumours that work is already underway to right the Tower but engineers will have to install 150 foundation pillars, 200 feet down into the bedrock from the building’s basement – which could cost an estimated $150 million. The question is, of course, who is going to pay for this?
