Luxe San Francisco high-rise is sinking, tilting

A luxury high-rise in downtown San Francisco is tipping and sinking, potentially paving the way for a costly legal battle.

The Millennium Tower at 301 Mission Street was built in 2008 and offers condos ranging from $1.6 million to $10 million, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

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According to an independent consultant, the 58-story building has sunk 16 inches and tilted two inches to the northwest since its completion, the Chronicle reports.

While it's normal for buildings to settle, the high-rise's builders predicted the tower would only settle 6 inches over its lifetime, according to a statement from the Transbay Joint Powers Authority.

Residents and a spokesman for Millenium Partners, the group that built the towers, claim the high-rise is sinking because the city dug a huge hole next door where the new Transbay Transit Center will rise, KGO-TV reported.

The Transbay Joint Powers Authority claims in a statement that it “takes no responsibility for the imbalance and over-settlement.”

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A consultant hired by the Transbay Joint Powers Authority found that the Millenium Tower had already settled by 10 inches when city construction crews broke ground in 2010, the Chronicle reported.

The Department of Transportation maintains that the building's fate was sealed when its builders decided to support the structure on a foundation that “consisted only of a concrete slab supported by short piles that did not reach the bedrock below.”

“This foundation is not sufficient to prevent a building from sinking due to the weight of the tower,” the transportation authority said in a statement.

According to the statement, two similar buildings adjacent to the Transit Center site stand on piles drilled into bedrock.