The contractor for an occupied, 26-story apartment building in Seattle that has corroding post-tensioning cables disagrees with the owner�s assertion that the nine-year-old high-rise will become unsafe. McCarthy Building Cos. also disputes the cause and scope of the damage to McGuire Apartments, built for $33 million, stated by the local owner, Carpenter�s Tower LLC.
On April 10, the owner announced plans to vacate the building over several months “due to extensive construction defects, which are financially impractical” to repair. A statement by Brian Urback, with the local Kennedy Associates, the owner’s advisor, says, “While there are no imminent tenant safety issues, experts involved in investigation and repair of the building have indicated there eventually will be structural issues that could present safety issues by 2011 and beyond.”