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US News

San Francisco ‘Leaning Tower’ residents forced to pay $6.8M for failed fix

By
Isabel Keane
Published Oct. 3, 2023, 10:57 a.m. ET

Residents of Millennium Tower, better known as the Leaning Tower of San Francisco, have been left to foot a $6.8 million bill after a much-needed renovation project failed to fix the troubled luxury building’s 29-inch tilt and caused nasty sewage spills.

Repairs to correct the infamous tower’s 29-inch tilt concluded with residents being billed $10 per square foot of condo space — costing tenants $6.8 million in total — as the project cost $20 million more than the $100 million expected, NBC Bay Area reported.

The 545-foot-tall tower continued to tilt and sink further west after architects attempted to repair its foundation last fall. While the issue has not been fixed, residents were told they had until October to pay for the so-called repairs.

“I don’t know what to do with this place, because it is costly – I cannot live in it,” said Mehrdad Mostafavi, who moved out in June after sewage began to flow out of his kitchen sink.

Millennium Tower
Residents of Millennium Tower have been hit with a massive bill following so-called repairs done to fix its tilt. San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images

While scrambling to clean up the sewage backup, which Millennium fix engineers warned could happen due to the tower’s tilt, Mostafavi was slapped with a bill for nearly $14,000 from the Tower owners association.

“It’s a luxurious building and famous building, but unfortunately it is not like this for me as an owner,” Mostafavi told the outlet. “I am really suffering.”

sewage in building
Mehrdad Mostafavi moved out of the building in June after sewage began coming out of his sink. NBC Bay Area

Mostafavi said the bill had come after he already dipped into his retirement savings account to pay for his wrecked kitchen.

“I’m really having a hard time seeing how can I leave for the retirement — how to get out of this apartment and do my retirement” he said. “It is very costly…. they keep asking for more money and this is not acceptable for me.”

Millennium Tower sewage damage
Mostafavi said he had to dig into his retirement savings to fix the damage the construction caused to his home. NBC Bay Area
Residents were charged $10 per square foot, costing Mostafavi nearly $14,000 for his condo.
Residents were charged $10 per square foot, costing Mostafavi nearly $14,000 for his condo. NBC Bay Area

After homeowners were compensated for lost property value, the tower association was given $150 million to cover costs — but it still was not enough given the troubled project’s numerous setbacks, the association said.

“The delays and the city’s heightened requirements resulted in significant unforeseen project cost increases,” the association’s letter to residents said.

The bill noticed shared a rough accounting for the $6.8 million owed by residents — and tried to assure homeowners that they were not alone in having to pay, since the tower’s developer and the fix contractor pitched in $10 million to offset overruns.

According to recent monitoring data, ever since the construction wrapped in June the building’s tilt has only improved by a fraction.

The 29-inch tilt was first revealed to the luxury building’s residents in 2016.