A New York City skyscraper with buckling structural elements has been stabilised, according to its developer, after a slew of reports that point to issues leading up to the incident.
Developer Metro Loft said that “at no time was the building, or any portion of it, at risk of collapse” in a statement following crew evacuations from a large office-to-residential project in Midtown Manhattan earlier this week, when portions of the interior started to crumble.
“We have been working closely with the Department of Buildings to rectify the situation,” said Metro Loft. “Our team worked through the night stabilizing the affected columns, and the DOB has confirmed the structure is now stable.”
“While we understand this has drawn significant attention, we want to be clear: this involves a small fraction of the building, and we are already in the process of resolving it. Reports of risk of a collapse were and are inaccurate.”
As of Friday, New York City’s Department of Buildings (DOB) shared an image of the installed shoring supports next to a cracked column.
“Engineers will remain on site to monitor the progress of work and continue their investigation into the structural failure,” said the DOB.
The project involves two sites on 42nd Street, with the collapse having occurred at an enlargement of the skyscraper that once hosted pharmaceutical company Pfizer’s World Headquarters. Plans show enlargements both horizontally and vertically to the 1960s skyscraper.
Throughout the week, the incident has drawn significant attention across social media, as well as investigations by officials.
A recent New York Times investigation claims that the building’s inspector, Domani Inspection Services, has repeatedly missed “warning signs” on other projects in the city, while the NYPost reported a construction-related litigation involving another Metro Loft residential project.
Local union workers are also criticising the project.
Earlier this week, the developer said it “identified the issue and developed a clear plan to fix it”.
“This is a localized situation affecting less than 30 apartments out of over 1,600. At no time was the building, or any portion of it, at risk of collapse,” said Metro Loft. “We are in the process of addressing the issue and will fully rebuild this portion of the building in tandem with ongoing construction.”
“We remain on schedule, and this work will not delay delivery of the building as it is such a small portion of the project. We are working around the clock so that operations can resume and life in the area can return to normal.”
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Metro Loft founder Nathan Berman said that the additional load from adding floors onto the building caused “those two particular columns to collapse”.
“Why those particular two columns and nothing else? We don’t know…we’re investigating that,” he told the Wall Street Journal.
As of Friday, the developer Dezeen said that it had “no further comment to make at this time” regarding the criticisms.
The tower is among several such conversion projects in the city. Others include an art deco office skyscraper in Lower Manhattan converted into residential and a former women’s prison being flipped to residential by CookFox.
The top photo is by Jim Henderson
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