Falling glass at 325 Fifth Ave. Condo liability?

I can't imagine that the developer, GC, subcontractor, Condo Ass. and unit owner won't all have some liability (and architect?). They will each hire experts to say why it's someone else's fault. In the end, more money will probably be spent on litigation than it would have cost to build it right in the first place.

Also posted by Aboutready earlier today:
http://www.streeteasy.com/nyc/talk/discussion/14316-325-fifth-starts-shedding

I would say that this kind of story scares me off of new development altogether.

evnyc, i agree. it seems so silly to be a disaster mongering nattering nabob of negativity, but structural issues seem to be a leapin'.

This has to suck for people who live there. Have any other buildings had this problem? How much does maintenance charge go up in situations like this?

Maybe nothing. New building, they may have recourse with sponsor/general contractor etc.

The bigger the bubble got, the more intense the rush to build. Construction quality suffered. I'd probably still look at a conversion but some of the 2005-2010 vintage new construction scares me. Quality standards just eroded across the board, from underwriting mortgages to construction. I think we'll see more problems cropping up.

evnyc. It's a shame that the building boom of the last several years, so inexperienced players enter the market. The esstablished players with track records are nto the ones associated with such head lines.

Even more practical. There are lots of new construction buildings where nice maple or hardwood flooring is literally buckling due to changes in atmospheric temperature and humidity. Nothing should happen to good pressurized wood but I have seen lots of apartments not where you have to rip them up, but the entire beauty of the floor is gone.

Not knowing the specifics, I used to visit lots of new condos to see how finishes were changing, styles , etc as well as looking for decorating ideas from the model units. Some finishes would look really nice, but were very impractical. Case in point, some stones are very porous and constantly need to be treated.

Riversider, you're absolutely correct. But even a few of the big guns seem to have rushed projects during those years, and sometimes it isn't just the finishes that suffered but structural problems that can take several years to become apparent. Which is why I'd reconsider this vintage of new dev in 5-10 years, once the problems have surfaced and presumably been addressed.

Very satisfied with my building. Visited One Beacon,15 cpw, Park Imperial. Lots of responsible developers out there. Have read the stories. It's horrible what some of the 2nd tier new entry builders slapped together and charged $1000 per square feet and above for..

Sorry AR, didn't see your earlier thread.

Would people consider buying into such a building?

look up the developer. lots of options. including the edge.

earlier development, fully sold, i believe, but i haven't looked it up.

but hey, at least they used decent drywall.

You have to think twice before buying into this building. At least wait until the liability situation becomes clear. If the city orders all the glass and railings to be replaced that could mean a huge assessment against current owners. Not to mention potential legal fees and higher insurance rates going forward.

Personally, I'm not a big fan of glass bulidings with exposed floor plates. It makes them look very cheap.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/03/nyregion/03concrete.html?scp=2&sq=concrete&st=cse

AR: remember when one of the RSB Trump buildings had to take down 5 F-ing floors because they didn't pass the concrete test? At the time, I said to myself "Self, how much do you want to bet that when these buildings are finished, no one is going to discount the value or worry about the construction of this building, even though it's obvious the developer/GC/etc. are asleep at the switch in terms of any kind of quality control?". And guess what happened? When we see talk of pricing today in this building, do you see anyone asking "Hey, isn't that the building where they had to rip down 5 floors because the concrete was SO BAD that it was unsafe?"

good concrete, such a simple but necessary element.

so much of the materials were coming from China. gee, what has recent history taught us there. fido, i haven't seen fido in ages, where'd he go?

http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/1997/11/02/1997-11-02_trump_job_not_set_in_stone.html

article is right this stuff happens. it should not. truck was stuck in traffic and concrete was defective. But what's this stuff about Chinese concrete? WTF?

not necessarily the same issue. all i'm saying is we had lots of shoddy materials coming into this country for construction. and then huge amounts of corruption on the testing and building standards side.

i was wrong about 325 fifth sales. did start closings relatively early for this development cycle, '06. 121 recorded sales, unless they changed the building plans they are only half sold because the description indicates 250 units. take a look at the selling history.

http://www.streeteasy.com/nyc/building/325-5-avenue-manhattan

i was thinking 225 avenue, although how i confused the two projects is beyond me. 225, the grand madison, did sell most i believe. an elad (of Plaza fame/notoriety), cooper square project.

I have a client who likes this building, what do you think about buying an high floor in this buidling?
please give me a suggest?