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 Vision
   
Location: Pacific Northwest
Gender: Male
Retired explorer
 |  | Abandoned Skyscraper
< on 4/13/2010 6:41 AM >
|  | | | demolish! 25 Story! Residents told to move out!
http://seattletime...apartments12m.html
Hundreds of residents and business owners who live and work in a modern, 25-story Belltown apartment building were told over the weekend to move out as soon as possible because of major structural flaws found in the building.
The building owner, a Seattle-based venture formed by pension funds and the local carpenters union, said it plans to demolish the high-rise.
The entity, Carpenter's Tower, said it is too expensive to fix all the problems at the 272-unit McGuire Apartments at Second Avenue and Wall Street. Defects include corroding and rusting cables, defective reinforcements in the building's exterior concrete and structural problems, the company said in a news release.
The McGuire, a $32 million project finished in April 2001, is safe for now, the company said, but residents were asked to move out before the end of the year.
The city of Seattle first learned of the building's flaws and demolition plan a week and a half ago, when the owners showed city officials a March 2010 engineering report detailing the building's structural problems, said Alan Justad, deputy director for the city's Department of Planning and Development. Until then, as far as the city knew, the owners were repairing the building, he said.
"It's unprecedented for us to have a new high-rise with modern technology have such serious problems so early in the life of the building," Justad said.
He said the city does not inspect structural components of large buildings directly, but instead relies on a private report from a third-party inspection firm selected by the contractor. The firm and its inspectors must be certified by the Washington Association of Building Officials, Justad said. He said his department plans to review reports on the McGuire Apartments filed by Mayes Testing Engineers.
In 2008, Carpenter's Tower obtained a permit from the city to fix problems with the building's exterior concrete, but then discovered some cables were corroding, Justad said. The company X-rayed the building and found more problems.
Carpenter's Tower — owned by Carpenters Union, Local 131 and the Multi-Employer Property Trust — said the problems can be traced to construction. In its news release, the company said load-bearing cable ends have corroded because they weren't painted properly, and that builders also used the wrong type of grout, which allowed water to seep in.
Carpenter's Tower sued the contractor, Bellevue's McCarthy Building Companies, and the Seattle-based Hewitt Architects, in 2007, alleging negligence and failure to adhere to industry standards. McCarthy, a subsidiary of a Missouri company, in turn sued dozens of subcontractors. The court file contains thousands of pages of documents, and is scheduled for trial in September in King County Superior Court.
Attempts on Sunday to contact officials with Carpenter's Tower, McCarthy, Mayes Testing and Hewitt Architects were unsuccessful.
The court documents indicate that problems with rust and water intrusion into the parking garage and street-level offices and businesses were noticed in 2004.
An investigator, Olympic Associates Company, then prepared a report detailing extensive water damage, rust and some concrete spalling or flaking. A piece of concrete fell from the building to the sidewalk in April 2006.
The lawsuit indicates that, as Olympic and Carpenter's Tower continued to investigate, additional structural problems were found, including cracks in walls.
In 2008, according to the lawsuit, the building owner said repairs would cost $23 million. By January 2010, repair costs and financial losses were estimated at $80 million, more than double the cost of construction, according to a document filed by McCarthy's attorneys in February.
The contractor, McCarthy, claims in the lawsuit that some of the damage has been the result of delays in repairs and the investigation.
Hewitt Architects, in its court filings, says Carpenter's Tower's claims against it are "a relatively minor portion of the issues in dispute."
The company's engineering report reviewed by the city showed that one-third of the building's connecting tendons would have failed by 2019, which Justad said is very fast for a new building. Based on the report, city officials feel the building is safe for the year, including its ability to withstand an earthquake, but will monitor the building and move up the date if necessary, Justad said.
"We're seeing things weren't properly done," he said.
For now, the apartment building remains swathed in scaffolding, and sandwich boards advertising leases at the McGuire Apartments were still out on the sidewalk Sunday.
Many residents said they had no idea anything was really wrong until they received a letter Friday from Kennedy & Associates, Carpenter Tower's real-estate adviser.
The letter asked residents to attend meetings Saturday or Monday evening "about information discovered during recent engineering studies done on the McGuire Building and what we must do about it," the letter said.
At the Saturday meetings, the company laid out incentives for people to move. Residents who move out by May 15 will receive three times their monthly rent, plus a moving allowance ranging from $1,500 to $2,500. The incentive payments, which decrease over time, end on June 30.
Resident Jessica Willis said once she read the letter Friday, she knew it was serious. Willis said she felt a little better once she heard about the money, but she still was unhappy about being forced to move out of her studio, where she has lived for a year.
"I love where I live," she said. "I was planning on extending my lease."
Hair-salon owner Quint Eby received a letter by FedEx on Saturday morning that cited a demolition clause in his lease. It said he must leave his street-level salon in 60 days. "It was completely devastating," he said.
Eby has six years left on his 10-year lease, and said he still is paying back the roughly $250,000 he sank into his business. Carpenter's Tower has not offered him any money, he said.
The building's other businesses include the restaurant The Local Vine, a FedEx Office and a Seattle Crossfit health club.
The letter to Eby said the company would be in touch this week, and Eby was hopeful the building's owners would offer him something.
"I just hope I don't have to file bankruptcy," he said.
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RailGuy88
  
This member has been banned. See the banlist for more information.
Location: Where you're not...
Gender: Male
| | Re: Abandoned Skyscraper
<Reply # 1 on 4/14/2010 3:26 AM >
| | | | For the non-locals, can we get a photo of this place? 
Going where others can't... |
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Freak
 
Location: Usually Alaska, now MSP.
Gender: Male
Hypocrite
| |  | Re: Abandoned Skyscraper
<Reply # 2 on 4/14/2010 3:20 PM >
| | | | | He said the city does not inspect structural components of large buildings directly, but instead relies on a private report from a third-party inspection firm selected by the contractor. |
Seattle sounds pretty laid back, in Minneapolis you have to get a building permit and a contractor's license just to change a faucet, not to mention new construction!
Turn off the internet and go play outside.
http://spamusement...hp/comics/view/137 |
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Junix
Location: Pitt Meadows, BC, Canada
Gender: Male
Resident Firebrand
| | Re: Abandoned Skyscraper
<Reply # 3 on 4/14/2010 8:42 PM >
| | | | @RailGuy88 for your and vision's bemusement
RUAUER?
"Security Measures: Creepy guy in trailer comes out at the slightest sound." -notwearingpants "And were off. N." -nobody |
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injektilo
Location: The Northeast
Gender: Male
Ride or Die
| |  | | Re: Abandoned Skyscraper
<Reply # 4 on 4/14/2010 8:49 PM >
| | | | ooooooooh scaffolding 
If I was really created in God’s image then when God was a boy he wanted to grow up to be a man, a good man, and when God was a man, a good man, he started telling the truth in order to get honest responses. |
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Freak
Location: Usually Alaska, now MSP.
Gender: Male
Hypocrite
| | | Re: Abandoned Skyscraper
<Reply # 5 on 4/14/2010 8:53 PM >
| | | | I think I see a way in...
Turn off the internet and go play outside.
http://spamusement...hp/comics/view/137 |
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TomUE
Location: Mukilteo WA.
Gender: Male
| |  |  | | | Re: Abandoned Skyscraper
<Reply # 6 on 4/14/2010 9:27 PM >
| | | | Well I suspect you could still walk right into the lobby. There's probably still residents since the article is quite recent. I bet theres a few vacant floors tho. I'm def going to attend teh demolition of this guy.
-Tom
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Vision
Location: Pacific Northwest
Gender: Male
Retired explorer
| | Re: Abandoned Skyscraper
<Reply # 7 on 4/15/2010 12:13 AM >
| | | | Thank you Junix. We might have to hold our horses. Its not abandoned, yet.
We are trying to turn Seattle into a west coast version of Detroit with all these abandoned buildings downtown. :p
Belltown apartment building to be vacated and dismantled Owner cites expert reports on construction defects in nine-year-old building SEATTLE – Carpenter’s Tower, LLC, the owner of the 25-story McGuire Apartments in the Belltown area of Seattle, today announced plans to vacate the building at Second Avenue and
Wall Street over the next several months due to extensive construction defects which are financially impractical to repair. Efforts to repair the building have been undertaken for the last two years.
“While there are no imminent tenant safety issues, the experts involved in investigation and repair of the building have indicated that there eventually will be structural issues that could present safety issues by 2011 and beyond,” said Brian Urback, with Kennedy Associates, the real estate advisor for Carpenter’s Tower. “The McGuire is not in imminent danger of a structural failure and the experts have advised that the building be vacated by the end of 2010. Under the circumstances, we are taking steps to vacate the building over the next several months and to help our tenants relocate. Since the necessary repairs are impractical, the decision of the owner is to dismantle the building.”
The building owner has informed officials at the Seattle Department of Planning and Development (DPD)[Best resource to find demolition permits] of the extensive construction defects, which principally involve corrosion of post-tensioned cables and concrete material and reinforcement placement deficiencies. The post-tensioned cables are corroding because the ends of the cables were not properly protected with corrosion preventative paint, and the grout used to seal the cable ends and anchors was not the specified non shrink grout and was defectively installed. As a result, water leaked into these areas and caused the cable ends to rust, and then corrode. In addition, reinforcement placement in the building’s exterior frame is defective, resulting in cracking and spalling of concrete, as well as structural impairment.
DPD has written a letter indicating it will issue an order later this year finding the building no longer safe to occupy and requiring the owner to “correct the unsafe conditions orvacate the building by December 31, 2010, or earlier.” The letteralso indicates that the city is“requiring that the owner monitor the building condition and periodically submit inspection reports to DPD.”
“We are providing an incentive package to help our tenants relocate much faster than the end of the year,” Urback said. “We recognize that this is a major inconvenience so we are trying to make it as easy as possible under difficult circumstances. We are providing what we think are generous financial incentives if they move quickly. We are paying moving expenses. And we are having our building staff help them find new apartments.”
Carpenter’s Tower is owned by Carpenters Union, Local 131, and by MEPT, the Multi- Employer Property Trust. Construction of the McGuire was completed in 2001. There are 272 residential apartments and four street-level retail spaces in the building. Carpenter’s Tower has filed suit against the general contractor responsible for construction of the building and against the building’s architects.
[last edit 4/15/2010 12:14 AM by Vision - edited 1 times]
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Junix
Location: Pitt Meadows, BC, Canada
Gender: Male
Resident Firebrand
| | Re: Abandoned Skyscraper
<Reply # 8 on 4/15/2010 1:00 AM >
| | | | Posted by TomUE
Well I suspect you could still walk right into the lobby. There's probably still residents since the article is quite recent. I bet theres a few vacant floors tho. I'm def going to attend teh demolition of this guy.
-Tom
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The service doors into the mechanical rooms in the alley were open too....
RUAUER?
"Security Measures: Creepy guy in trailer comes out at the slightest sound." -notwearingpants "And were off. N." -nobody |
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ThomasWesley
Location: Bucks County, PA
Gender: Male
That debonair explorer.
| | | Re: Abandoned Skyscraper
<Reply # 9 on 4/15/2010 6:18 PM >
| | | | Does nobody else think it's ironic that a building owned by a carpenter's union has serious flaws in its construction?
-T.W.v.O.IV |
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Junix
Location: Pitt Meadows, BC, Canada
Gender: Male
Resident Firebrand
| | Re: Abandoned Skyscraper
<Reply # 10 on 4/16/2010 5:02 AM >
| | | | | Does nobody else think it's ironic that a building owned by a carpenter's union has serious flaws in its construction? |
Serious flaws in it's steal, cement, and weatherproof coatings!
All of the CARPENTRY is AWESOME!
RUAUER?
"Security Measures: Creepy guy in trailer comes out at the slightest sound." -notwearingpants "And were off. N." -nobody |
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aaronni
Location: South Puget Sound
| | Re: Abandoned Skyscraper
<Reply # 11 on 4/16/2010 6:47 AM >
| | | | Going with the lowest bidder, yeah, that's always a good idea.
never know until you go |
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IDChris
Location: Southern Idaho Wasteland
Gender: Male
| | Re: Abandoned Skyscraper
<Reply # 12 on 4/16/2010 5:07 PM >
| | | | Posted by ThomasWesley
Does nobody else think it's ironic that a building owned by a carpenter's union has serious flaws in its construction?
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Actually, the carpenter's union involves the concrete form setters as well as interior metal studs, drywall, acoustic ceilings, millwork, flooring, and plaster or stucco lath.
As you can see, they would be heavily involved in this project and it's very common for the pension funds to finance such ventures. I don't believe the carpenters are involved in the post-tensioning and reinforcing steel.
I've been reading too on how the building inspectors are not doing their job. That may be true, but on jobs this size, the contractor or owner will employ an independent testing firm full time to do materials testing, ie. concrete slumps, soil compaction, etc.
Interesting to see how this plays out. Gonna be a lot of finger-pointing.
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Hazey
Location: Seattle, Washington
| | Re: Abandoned Skyscraper
<Reply # 13 on 4/18/2010 8:16 PM >
| | | | I live 2 blocks from here, and have heard lots of news about this.
However, their are still residences inside of this building -
There is a mass amount of patrol at all times of this building -
To me, it's not really anything worth exploring considering the risk of it.
And yes - usually to me the risk if half the fun, but not really at this location.
I will walk down soon and poke & prod to see what's going on there.
[last edit 4/18/2010 8:18 PM by Hazey - edited 1 times]
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RailGuy88
This member has been banned. See the banlist for more information.
Location: Where you're not...
Gender: Male
| | Re: Abandoned Skyscraper
<Reply # 14 on 4/21/2010 1:06 AM >
| | | | Posted by Hazey
I live 2 blocks from here, and have heard lots of news about this.
...
I will walk down soon and poke & prod to see what's going on there.
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Pics or it didn't happen.
Going where others can't... |
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Junix
Location: Pitt Meadows, BC, Canada
Gender: Male
Resident Firebrand
| | Re: Abandoned Skyscraper
<Reply # 15 on 5/28/2010 4:20 PM >
| | | | Did someone get caught in here? Guard roaming the sidewalk outside, Guard roaming the building inside. lol
RUAUER?
"Security Measures: Creepy guy in trailer comes out at the slightest sound." -notwearingpants "And were off. N." -nobody |
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Hazey
Location: Seattle, Washington
| | Re: Abandoned Skyscraper
<Reply # 16 on 7/10/2010 10:45 PM >
| | | | So, upon trying to get inside, I realized there was also a "copy place" like, Kinkos or something, in the lobby of it, which makes it a little difficult to get into.
And yes, there is security I believe now [from what I've seen] due to someone [who was very ballsy] who climbed the scaffolding to the top and graffiti'd their name across one of the top floors. [I love it, honestly - whoever did it definitely has some guts.]
I'm curious as to if there is any way of entering from the upper floors, not from the bottom.
However, I do see people in there quite often.
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Chris-Kicker
 
Location: New York, NY
Gender: Male
no, I did not Kick Chris.
| | | Re: Abandoned Skyscraper
<Reply # 17 on 7/11/2010 6:39 AM >
| | | | isn't a very pretty building is it?
http://ChurchofAtom.com/
"Signatures are still stupid" |
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Traxion
Location: King county, WA
Gender: Male
| | Re: Abandoned Skyscraper
<Reply # 18 on 7/11/2010 7:24 AM >
| | | | i dont think the building usually had scaffolding on it. i believe those are either construction pix or the recent repair attempts. im no architect but if there was a building that f****n ugly in MY city, i prob would have noticed it before. sound like we've got a few seattle boys and girls in this thread...hmmmm. i know im new and all but anyone down for a red bull fueled recon mission?
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Kaput
| | Re: Abandoned Skyscraper
<Reply # 19 on 8/1/2010 6:10 AM >
| | | | Posted by TomUE
Well I suspect you could still walk right into the lobby. There's probably still residents since the article is quite recent. I bet theres a few vacant floors tho. I'm def going to attend teh demolition of this guy.
-Tom
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I went over there last Tuesday. Definitely a security guard in the lobby. Locked down pretty good too. Very public. Talked a little w/ the wait staff of the cafe. I think they said tonight was their last night. There is scaffolding all over the place.
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