Fatal accident, leaning construction and insoluble quarrel between promoter and builder… This site has been at a standstill for years. It will be necessary to decide between consolidation and demolition.
Very close to the port of New York, at the southern tip of Manhattan, it is a cursed construction site of which no one knows the outcome. Everything had however started well in 2016 for what was to be a luxurious residential tower 200 meters high with its 60 floors for 99 high-end apartments without forgetting its spa and its swimming pool on the high floor… The prices are were already at the time between 1.2 million and 20 million dollars, which did not prevent the first orders from arriving.
But the troubles and legal proceedings began in 2017 with a dramatic accident. A worker who participated in the pouring of the concrete of the tower was victim of a fatal fall from the 29th floor. The investigation showed that he did have a safety harness but it was not connected to anything… Then the following year, poor handling from the 34th floor led to the spreading of concrete on the building and the pavement, fortunately without consequence. And then we discovered that the tower was leaning.
Concrete or foundation problem?
Certainly, it is not about the Tower of Pisa. The tower tilts only about ten centimeters at its top… But since the misfortunes of the Millenium Tower in San Francisco, which tilts and sinks more and more, no one wants to take any more risks. . Result: an interminable legal battle of which the United States has the secret between the promoter, Fortis properties, and the builder, Pizzarotti, to determine the responsibilities of each. The first accuses the second of not working properly in its use of concrete and conversely the builder believes that it was the promoter’s choices that led to a construction site at a discount, with foundations that were not reinforced as well as possible. .
Since almost the end of 2018, the site has been at a standstill. And at the end of March, as the site The Real Deal reminds us, the last attempt at mediation failed, the mediator noting that the positions are too far apart to be able to hope for an amicable agreement. The authorities still want to avoid litigation and have prevented Bank Leumi, which lent $120 million for this project, from launching a seizure operation. In the meantime, all potential buyers have obviously withdrawn from the project and no one knows what will happen to it: destruction or reinforcement. Good connoisseurs of the file, however, believe that this slight inclination cannot be corrected. But according to a recent safety audit quoted by the Curbed site, apart from some problems with the adjustment of the glass walls, the inclination of the tower does not cause any concern about its structural solidity and the construction site could even resume in complete safety. But what’s the point, if no one wants these accommodations anymore…
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