I am enjoying the sideshow dramatics in San Francisco's not-so-slow-moving trainwreck. It would appear an independent geo-tech had some fun comments for SF Gate, basically blasting Ron Hamburger for incompetence.
Geotechnical engineer Robert Pyke told the outlet this week that the work should have been stopped months earlier. "Certainly by the end of June, it was obvious that there was additional settlement as a result of installing the casings and the piles," Pyke noted.
"Any responsible engineer should have called a halt," he added, stating that he believes the continuation of construction for two more months caused more damage.
Pyke's criticism was leveled at Chief Engineer Ronald Hamburger, who pushed back in an email to SFGATE Thursday, stating that he became concerned with the increased settlement in early June. However, Hamburger wrote that he believed "additional settlement through completion of casing installation would not be a problem."
As he will not prove wrong until the thing falls down, Ronald Hamberger offered up an incredible, head-spinning opinion on the whole tower: it is just fine, all this work is basically marketing to increase the property value and appease the HOA.
Hamburger told SFGATE on Thursday that he maintains that the building is stable and safe, and the current work is not even needed from a technical perspective.
"The HOA has always made clear that although the voluntary upgrade was not required, it is interested in restoring the building's reputation, damaged primarily by erroneous media reports," Hamburger said.
This reputation may also be affecting the value of the condos in the luxury high-rise. KPIX reported that 13 listings in the tower either expired or were taken off the market this year.
