Repair job for skyscraper window in SF could take days

It may take days to fix broken windows in a San Francisco skyscraper that sent glass showering across the Financial District.

City building inspectors said repairing the broken windows could take days as workers wait out the blustery winds that may have caused the glass to tumble Tuesday from the 43rd floor at 555 California Street, the San Francisco Business Times reported.

The glass for the two damaged windows, one of which shattered entirely, will be replaced in the coming days when the wind dies down, building inspection officials said. 

The building engineer did not respond to inquiries about what caused the windows to crack and shatter. But a representative from the city’s Fire Department, which helped secure the scene after the glass fell, suspected it was weather-related. No injuries were reported.

A shelter-in-place order was issued to the city’s fourth tallest building owned by Vornado Realty Trust and The Trump Organization. The order was lifted three hours later. 

The 1.35 million-square-foot building, once known as Bank of America Center, was built in 1969. In a short video tweeted during the incident, a white pane somersaulted from the upper stories hundreds of feet to the streets below.

The building, home to tenants including Bank of America, McKinsey & Co. and Microsoft, is widely regarded as one of San Francisco’s best office buildings, according to the Business Times.

Vornado reported in regulatory filings last month that the building was 99 percent leased.

Even so, the property made headlines last month as it was placed on a loan servicer watchlist — an indication of potential challenges to a borrower’s ability to stay current on a loan. As of late February, Vornado and Trump, which owns 30 percent of the property, were current on 555 California’s $1.2 billion mortgage. 

— Dana Bartholomew

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