UPDATE: Dec. 7, 2023: Crews have begun to repair a Rapid City, South Dakota, mixed-use project that made news for its tilting elevator shaft, the contractor on the Block 5 job said in a statement to Construction Dive, after a shim failed between the foundation and precast.
Luke Jessen, vice president of development for Sioux Falls, South Dakota-based developer Lloyd Cos., said its construction division dismantled the elevator tower and has begun to re-pour its foundation, with plans to restart construction on the structure next week.
Original story continues below.
Dive Brief:
- Part of a 10-story mixed-use project underway in Rapid City, South Dakota, began tilting Thursday, forcing work to stop and nearby buildings to evacuate.
- Block 5 is an $80 million-plus mixed-use complex that will offer 130 luxury lofts, a 117-room Hyatt Place hotel and 5,000 square feet of commercial space. Sioux Falls, South Dakota-based developer Lloyd Cos.’ construction division, Lloyd Construction, broke ground on the project in June, according to the firm.
- On Nov. 30, construction workers noticed the northside elevator shaft had shifted and was tilting to the south, according to local news outlet KELO. Authorities evacuated the nearby area, along with neighboring buildings. The evacuation was lifted on Friday.
Dive Insight:
Luke Jessen, vice president of development for Lloyd, said in a statement that a product failed at the corner of one of the elevator shafts, causing the issue. The location of the failure point resulted in the tower shifting 1 inch at its base.
“This is an isolated product and sequencing issue, which will be safely rectified by an erection subcontractor in the days to come by deconstructing the shaft,” the statement said.
As supply chain snarls forced contractors to make widespread material substitutions during the COVID-19 pandemic, construction attorneys have cautioned that construction defects could become an issue in future projects, even years down the road.
Other vertical structures have exhibited high-profile leans in recent years. San Francisco’s Millennium Tower needed a $100 million retrofit to correct a tilt that was so severe marbles in one owner’s unit rolled across the floor. In New York, 161 Maiden Lane – dubbed the Leaning Tower of Lower Manhattan – has been stalled for years, due to a lean to the north. And Bologna, Italy, officials were bracing Friday for a 900-year-old tower to fall.
However, the Rapid City tower remains solidly on its foundation, which is fully intact, according to Jessen’s statement. The developer added that the project’s disruption won’t be lengthy.
“We anticipate this will not result in a substantial delay to the overall development,” Jessen said in the statement.
