{"id":292509,"date":"2026-07-10T18:20:26","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T18:20:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/292509\/"},"modified":"2026-07-10T18:20:26","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T18:20:26","slug":"developers-in-buckling-new-york-building-may-have-dodged-worse-bullet-full-demolition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/292509\/","title":{"rendered":"Developers in buckling New York building may have dodged worse bullet: Full demolition"},"content":{"rendered":"

The owners and backers of the Pfizer Building conversion in New York that has had buckling beams and sagging floors may have avoided a far costlier outcome because of what appears to be limited damage. Experts say a full demolition of a Manhattan tower could cost over $100 million.<\/p>\n

Construction workers discovered the problems with the columns and floors at the former Pfizer headquarters in midtown Manhattan at 219-235 E. 42nd St. on Tuesday, forcing the evacuation of the construction project and neighboring properties and the installation of shoring materials to stabilize the structure.<\/p>\n

Developers MetroLoft and David Werner Real Estate Investments will \u201cfully rebuild\u201d the area of the building where the problems arose, according to MetroLoft. The problem is confined to a \u201csmall fraction of the building\u201d and affects fewer than 30 apartments out of 1,600 planned units, MetroLoft said in an emailed statement. <\/p>\n

MetroLoft\u2019s initial assessment revealed that two columns in the northwest corner of the building had not been properly installed and reinforced. That led to the support columns buckling and the floor sagging.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The former headquarters of Pfizer in midtown Manhattan was undergoing a renovation to apartments before construction problems arose. (Getty Images)<\/p>\n

While not much time has passed for analysis after the problem was discovered, MetroLoft may have made an accurate assessment of the building in a short period, said Jeff Gans, an attorney at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman who advises owners and contractors on commercial development projects.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt sounds like they got a good structural team into the building to identify and isolate the cause and to design a remediation solution,\u201d Gans told CoStar News. He\u2019s not involved in the project.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would be surprised if they can\u2019t find a way to save it,\u201d Gans said.<\/p>\n

The leveling of a high-rise building in midtown Manhattan could cost at least $100 million, said Scott State, an engineer and CEO of New York-based NorthStar Group Services, which handles large building demolitions.<\/p>\n

However, if subsequent forensic examinations of the structure identify other problems, the building could still be condemned and razed, State said. More time is likely needed before MetroLoft can determine with confidence that the problems can be fully remediated. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen the developer suggesting that they\u2019ve\u201d determined the extent of the problem, \u201cwhich is not possible\u201d in such a short period, State told CoStar News. NorthStar is not involved in the project.<\/p>\n

\"Demolition<\/p>\n

The demolition of a high-rise building in Manhattan, like the Pfizer Building, could cost at least $100 million, according to a demolition company executive. Pictured is the Baker Hotel where Bonnie and Clyde stayed in Dallas, Texas, coming down in 1980. (Getty Images)<\/p>\n

MetroLoft did not respond to a request for a response to State\u2019s comment.<\/p>\n

The demolition of a high-rise in Manhattan would not involve explosives, State said. Instead, tall buildings in a densely developed neighborhood must be deconstructed starting from the top and moving down.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the reverse of constructing a building,\u201d State said.<\/p>\n

Inspectors and engineers from the city of New York\u2019s Department of Buildings \u201cwill remain on site [on Wednesday] to monitor the progress of ongoing work and continue their investigation into the structural failure,\u201d the department said in a statement. The evacuation order for some nearby buildings remained in place as of Wednesday afternoon.<\/p>\n

More inspections expected\n<\/p>\n

Even though MetroLoft has said it can fix the problem and the project\u2019s estimated opening won\u2019t be delayed, engineers and construction personnel still have a long list of areas to examine, said Eugene Gurevich, a principal and structural engineer at Rand Engineering & Architecture in New York.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe extent of permanent structural damage and the appropriate long-term repair strategy will ultimately be determined through the forensic investigation,\u201d Gurevich told CoStar News. Rand is not involved with the Pfizer Building project.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s probably too soon to ascertain the extent of damage to other parts of the building, said Roberto Leon, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Tech.<\/p>\n

\u201cMuch will depend on whether the damage is localized [to only two or three columns] or if it has affected the region between the added floors and the existing structure,\u201d Leon told CoStar News.<\/p>\n

It also remains likely that some parties connected to the project, such as developers, lenders, contractors, subcontractors and insurance companies, will sue to recover financial losses, Gans said. Gans\u2019 experience includes the drafting and negotiation of design and construction documents on large building projects.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to imagine that some litigation would not arise,\u201d Gans said.<\/p>\n

Gensler is design architect and architect of record. CCM is construction manager.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The owners and backers of the Pfizer Building conversion in New York that has had buckling beams and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":292510,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[75,84,83,9,24,63],"class_list":["post-292509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manhattan","tag-manhattan","tag-manhattan-headlines","tag-manhattan-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=292509"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292509\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/292510"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=292509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=292509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=292509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}