Millennium Tower homeowners propose $100 million solution to sinking problem


Photo of J.K. Dineen J.K. Dineen Dec. 3, 2018 Updated: Dec. 3, 2018 8:20 p.m.

The Millennium Tower is seen in front of Salesforce Tower in San Francisco, Calif. on Tuesday, March 27, 2018. Engineers may begin preliminary work soon to stabilize the sinking and leaning Millennium Tower. The Millennium Tower is seen in front of Salesforce Tower in San Francisco, Calif. on Tuesday, March 27, 2018. Engineers may begin preliminary work soon to stabilize the sinking and leaning Millennium Tower. Photo: Paul Chinn / The Chronicle

Homeowners in the sinking Millennium Tower on Tuesday will submit a permit application to shore up the 58-story building by drilling more than 50 new piles down to bedrock, a nearly $100 million fix.

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In an application to be filed with the city's Department of Building Inspection, the Millennium Tower Association laid out plans for a "perimeter pile upgrade," 52 steel and concrete piles that would shift a portion of the building's weight from its existing foundation system to bedrock about 250 feet below.

Photo of J.K. Dineen

J.K. Dineen

Follow J.K. on: https://www.facebook.com/SFChronicle/sfjkdineen

J.K. Dineen joined the San Francisco Chronicle in 2014, focusing on real estate development for the metro group, a beat that includes land use, housing, neighborhoods, the port, retail, and city parks. Prior to joining The Chronicle, he worked for the San Francisco Business Times, the San Francisco Examiner, the New York Daily News, and a bunch of newspapers in his native Massachusetts, including the Salem Evening News and the MetroWest Daily News.

He is the author of two books: Here Tomorrow, about historic preservation in California (Heyday, 2013); and the forthcoming High Spirits (Heyday 2015), a book of essays about legacy bars of San Francisco.

A graduate of Macalester College, Dineen was a member of Teach For America's inaugural class and taught sixth grade in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Past Articles from this Author:

* 'Housing is just not available': Butte County residents scramble for shelter in wake of North Complex Fire

* Glass Fire burns houses and well-known wineries as it bears down on St. Helena, Santa Rosa

* Berkeley Native American site slated for homes named a key endangered historic place