Fix Overruns For The Millennium Tower Costs Residents $6.8 Million

The fix overruns for the Millennium Tower have amounted to 6.8 million dollars. Its residents have to shoulder the financial burden of this retrofit project that has been delayed for a while. Despite the fix and the stable building, its tilting problems have only marginally improved.

An Expensive Project With Fix Overruns

The Millennium Tower project was originally projected to cost $100 million. To support the tower on two fronts last autumn, it relied on 52 piles sunk to bedrock. However, the building experienced more tilting and sinking during the work, forcing the city to intervene. The project relied on only 18 piles and was substantially finished by the end of August.

This cost roughly $120 million in total based on the HOA accounting given to the tower’s residents. However, they were recently informed that they also had to face an assessment of $10 per square foot to cover fix overruns. This bill became due on October 1, 2023.

According to the monitoring data, the building remained stable after the project ended in June. However, the tilting has only slightly improved. The high-rise Millennium Tower is still tilted 29 inches at the northwest edge.

The HOA’s Letter to the Residents

The HOA mentioned that it was allotted $150 million to support the high-rise to the bedrock. This also helped pay for other costs, legal bills, and reserve funding. The HOA sent this as part of the accounting along with the bill.

However, the letter also mentioned that the sum was not enough, given the numerous issues. These included the delays and the city’s stricter requirements. As a result, the letter had a $6.8 million bill to the residents to shoulder the fix overruns. However, the letter also noted that the tower’s developer and fix contractor also chipped in $10 million.

Mehrdad Mostafavi is a resident who moved out of his condo on the third floor. He left in June because the kitchen sink had a sewage backup — a consequence the engineers warned about due to the structure’s tilting. According to Mostafavi, the condo is costly. He was billed almost $14,000 from the HOA as he was trying to clean up the sewage backup.

When the bill from the HOA came, he already tapped into his retirement savings to fund his kitchen repairs. He says he doesn’t know how to save for retirement and leave the apartment. He cannot accept paying even more money.