Violations found in repairs to sinking, tilting luxury high-rise

San Francisco’s Department of Building Inspection has filed two notices of violation against Millennium Tower, saying the owners made unauthorized repairs to address issues caused by the building’s sinking.

The department found spalling and leaking in the underground parking garage, as well as repairs that had been done without permits. DBI ordered the building owner to obtain permits for the work already done and provide an engineering report on the condition of water intrusion and cracking in the garage walls.

A second violation charges that two ramps on the Millennium complex’s ground floor — one connects the 58-story condominium tower to the adjacent 11-story podium, and the other goes to the rear porte cochere — are steeper than the maximum slope allowed by state building codes. The handrails were also found to be out of compliance. Both must be corrected within 90 days.

Building Inspector Daniel Lowery said that the slope of the ramps had clearly become steeper during settlement and that the owner had tried to correct the problem.

“The ramps would not have been at that slope at the time of final inspection” when the building opened in 2009, he said. “It appears that they have been altered without a permit.”

The luxury high-rise has sunk 16 inches and tilted 2 inches at the base, prompting a number of lawsuits. Homeowners have sued the developer, saying the foundation, which uses 90-foot piles rather than the 225-foot piles that would have reached bedrock, is insufficient.

The developer, Millennium Partners, has blamed the Transbay Joint Powers Authority for causing the settlement by dewatering soil around the adjacent Transbay Transit Center, which is under construction.

The Millennium Tower Homeowners Association, which owns the building, said it “assumed that any necessary permits were being properly pursued by Millennium Partners” and that it understands “that they are getting the necessary permit for the garage repair today.”

Millennium Partners spokesman P.J. Johnston said the developer “will work with the association to address these types of issues, which commonly arise with large buildings. We will ensure that all proper permits are secured.”

The latest notices of violation were released publicly the same day Supervisor Aaron Peskin held his second hearing on construction defects at the tower. Peskin fired dozens of questions at DBI officials and questioned a recent report by Millennium engineer Ronald Hamburger that downplayed concerns about the building’s safety. The report contradicted a 2014 draft by the same engineer warning that settlement would cause foundation damage that would otherwise be avoided during a moderate quake.

“It looks like (the report) has been extremely lawyered, which I hope gives you all a lot of concern,” Peskin said.

Resident Jerry Dodson said he had long thought the work done to the two ramps seemed “decidedly suspicious.”

“The real reason was Millennium Partners wanted to cover up that the building was sinking on the tower side and not on the other side,” he said. “That it was done without permits or oversight is disturbing.”

J.K. Dineen is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jdineen@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SFjkdineen