Aside from aesthetics, these extra tall buildings have always had added levels of difficulty of construction. I remember hearing about the tuned mass damper in the Citicorp Center on Park Avenue, but only recently became aware of this hidden story:
Roman Mars’ podcast 99% Invisible covers design questions large and small, from his fascination with rebar to the history of slot machines to the great ...
www.slate.com
Recently we have seen stories published about issues in 432 Park Avenue, and now there is a lawsuit. I have to wonder how many of these buildings are going to have major issues in the future.
Complaints at 432 Park Avenue range from noise problems to faulty elevators to a June electrical explosion.
therealdeal.com
432 Park Avenue residents sue developers for $250M
Condo board seeking damages for flooding, noise, troublesome elevators
Residents at CIM Group and Macklowe Properties’ 432 Park Avenue are escalating previously reported complaints over a wide range of issues with the building’s
design and construction in a $250 million lawsuit filed Thursday.
The condo board of the Billionaires’ Row tower is suing the developers for issues related to flooding, broken elevators, noise from the building’s sway and a June electrical explosion, according to the New York Times. The lawsuit doesn’t include potential punitive damages or individual lawsuits residents may file.
The damages claim is based on approximately 1,500 construction and design problems found by an engineering firm the board hired to inspect the building.
The complaint filed in New York State Supreme Court reportedly mentions “life safety” issues, including how residents have been trapped in elevators for hours at a time after building sway caused them to stall. Floods and leaks have also occurred due to poor plumbing installation, according to the board, damaging 35 units and common areas and causing millions of dollars in repairs.
Noise complaints include the sound and vibration that stems from building sway, according to the complaint, especially during inclement weather. One resident also said it “sounds like a bomb” when garbage is thrown into the trash chute,
the Times reported in February.
Macklowe Properties didn’t provide the outlet comment on the lawsuit. But a spokesman for the sponsor — which includes the CIM Group — said commitments at the building have been honored and accused the condo board of blocking some maintenance requests. CIM Group co-founder Richard Ressler owns a unit in the building.
432 Park Avenue was designed by Rafael Viñoly’s firm. It was built in 2015 with a projected sellout of $3.1 billion. While the building is almost sold out, resales have slowed since the first wave of complaints became public in February. Only one sale at the building has closed since January, according to The Times.