Safety netting is being installed at the former Pfizer headquarters in New York where columns buckled last week, with some buildings still under evacuation and streets closed in the area as city officials investigate the office-to-residential conversion project.
This past weekend, workers began setting up netting at 245 E. 42nd St. in midtown Manhattan to "add an extra layer of safety," according to David Maggiotto, a spokesman for the New York City Department of Buildings. That's necessary before reopening the street and reoccupying nearby buildings, he said in an email to CoStar News on Tuesday.
Last Tuesday, fire department and building officials were called to Pfizer's former headquarters at 219 and 235 E. 42nd, which is being redeveloped as 1,602 apartments by a joint venture between MetroLoft and David Werner Real Estate Investments. Two support columns had buckled on the 21st and 22nd floors, while floors between the 21st and 26th levels were sagging. The area was cleared out and nearby buildings evacuated.
The building department said it has launched a full investigation into "what exactly went wrong" at the site and taken a series of steps to stabilize the property, must recently putting up the netting.
"Workers have been on-site doing work to install the net enclosure," Maggiotto said. "Given the extreme heat and the forecasted rain, it’s difficult to commit to a precise completion date as we balance the building conditions, worker and public safety."
New York is in the middle of a heat wave, with temperatures expected to hit 99 degrees Wednesday.
So far, netting has placed from floors 19 through 22, and it's slated to go on the remaining floors to the roof of the 37-story building. Meanwhile, officials are looking into what happened.
"The investigation underway will include a massive review of construction documents and reports held by the developer and construction team, interviews with witnesses and responsible parties, a hands-on sweep of the entire construction site, and review of available video and photo evidence," Maggiotto said.
MetroLoft didn't respond Tuesday to an email from CoStar News seeking comment. But last week, the developer said it was addressing the issues at the redevelopment and the project was going ahead as scheduled, with completion by the end of next year.
In terms of stabilizing the property, construction crews have been working continuously in shifts since last week to perform remedial work to make the building safe, according to Maggiotto.
That includes installing emergency struts to replace lightweight shoring struts as well as adding the netting enclosure outside on the north side of the building. Permanent steel columns are being manufactured and will be installed to remove more of the light-duty poles.