Developers At Troubled SoMa Construction Site Served Violation Notice
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Construction on the troubled high-rise project in San Francisco's SoMa that forced building evacuations and street closures 24 hours ago got another setback Thursday when inspectors hit the developers of 33 Tehama with a violation notice.
The construction emergency gripped several blocks of the South of Market neighborhood for hours Wednesday as a 2,000-pound slab of concrete tilted dangerously over city streets 36 stories below.
An accident involving the massive crane at the top of the building Wednesday afternoon at about 2:45 p.m. left the crane and the slab unstable. Contractors called the San Francisco Fire Department for help.
Officials shut off several city streets and evacuated 16 buildings in the area. After hours of uncertainty, the builders said they secured the problem at around 9 p.m.
"It's very unusual. And it was an equipment failure no one was able to predict," William Strawn of the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection.
The department wants more from Hines, the developer behind the building project.
Building inspector issued a violation, saying a climbing machine failed, causing the platform the crane was on to tilt.
The property owner and contractor for the project at 33 Tehama St. are required to provide a licensed engineer's evaluation of the problem that led to the evacuations and perform the work needed to stabilize the rooftop structure within 24 hours, according to the notice of violation, which was issued Thursday morning.
They must then submit an engineer's report on the stability of the repairs within 48 hours.
The property developer, Hines, issued a statement early Thursday stating that construction had resumed on the site.
However an official with Lend Lease, the contractor for the site, clarified Thursday afternoon afternoon that the only work occurring at the site is that needed for engineering reviews and correcting the problem.
The violation requires engineers to stabilize the rooftop structure and submit a report detailing all the repairs. Until the company does that, it won't be able to resume construction on the high rise.
"What they were going to do today is actually remove that climbing machine," said Strawn. "Go back and restore the alignment of the floor, and then they will rebuild the machine to complete the job."
The Department of Building Inspection says this is the first violation for the builders at the Tehana Street development.
CAL/Osha also inspected the site to ensure it was safe enough for the construction workers laboring there.
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