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Engineer says contractor failed to reinforce columns in Pfizer HQ conversion
The partial collapse led to evacuations across seven Manhattan blocks and is being investigated by New York City officials.
HousingWire reports an engineer involved with the former Pfizer headquarters office-to-residential conversion said workers did not reinforce structural columns as designed, after which the columns buckled and triggered evacuations across seven Manhattan Midtown East blocks.
The incident is under investigation, but the engineer’s account points to contractor error rather than inherent risks in large-scale office-to-residential conversions, a distinction that could affect how the broader conversion strategy is viewed.
HousingWire reports that developer MetroLoft is converting 1970s-era office buildings into 1,600 apartments by adding floors, and that plans by GACE Consulting Engineers called for steel plating along the columns supporting the added stories.
In a statement, GACE principal engineer Chris Behan said the structure was not reinforced as GACE’s design required, while the article links the growing push for conversions to efforts to address vacant, obsolete office buildings and add housing supply.