Re: SF Skyscraper
Author: your first line ...
Date: 09-06-2018 - 15:42
... would not work in a ballot proposition, because it asks 2 unrelated questions.
1) still suing the TBT project? Yes, and they will continue to do so until the City pays them off with "enough" money (certainly in the $E08 if not 09).
2) people building the building - yes, they knew, and did not build foundations extending to bedrock. But the building code (at the time, at least) didn't require that, so it's perfectly legal and defensible. People buying units there? Not relevant - they are buying residential space in a building that's supposed to be stable, but remember that building codes are simply supposed to keep the building from collapsing, not safe from all damage, and the building inspectors are satisfied (so far) that the building isn't collapsing any time soon.
3) Implied in #2, related to #1: did the TBT project cause the building to sink and tilt? Building and resident lawyers say yes. Engineers say, maybe, a little, can't rule it out but the work was designed to avoid it, and started to sink before the TBT project started. Lawyers will figure it all out with maximum payout to those who own the building, not the residents.
I'm going to predict that the TBT will end up costing between 1/2 and 1 billion$ more than the final construction bill due to a settlement (oh, horrible pun) with the Tower people. Where the money will come from is anybody's guess, but a slice off the budget of all the other transportation projects in the Bay Area would be a good guess. Whether the money will then go into tearing the building down and raising another one with proper foundations, or simply go into various pockets as profit, is a question that can't be answered for a long time yet.