(Architectural Record) The 645-ft Millennium Tower—the tallest reinforced concrete structure in the Western United States—is sinking and tilting, and the building owner places the blame squarely on the adjacent Transbay Transit Center project.
The 60-story residential building in San Francisco’s fast-developing South of Market area has settled 16 in. and tilted 2 in. to the northwest since its completion in 2009.
Handel Architects, with structural engineer DeSimone & Partners, designed the $350-million building. Webcor Builders constructed it using a braced soil-cement slurry wall system with 80-ft-deep soldier piles located 5 ft on center, supporting a reinforced concrete slab. A 24-in.-thick reinforced concrete shear-wall core and a partial perimeter moment frame resist lateral loads.