Nine year old Belltown highrise condemned

[pscot]

The building is at 2nd and Wall. The initial lawsuits have already been filed.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2011585964_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

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[Suich]

1. This is nuts!

I would think building inspectors would be a lot tougher on COMMERCIAL construction than they are on RESIDENTIAL! I guess not! Who knew?

:shrug:

[pscot]

2. One might also think

the City would share some of the liability, since they provide the permits and certify the inspections. Contractors have been known to cut corners trying to pare expenses. The whole thing sounds pretty raw; criminal, in fact.