The NBC Bay Area’s Investigative Unit has learned, three of the high-rise buildings where windows failed this week were among 200 newer structures with a 30-year exemption from the city’s façade inspection rules.
Both Salesforce East at 350 Mission Street, and a 15-story building at 1400 Mission Street had windows fail during Tuesday’s windstorm. Salesforce East was completed in 2015 and 1400 Mission in 2016 – that means, under city regulations, both qualified for a 30-year inspection exemption automatically granted to buildings with permit applications dating back to 1998.
The exemption means those newer buildings do not need to perform “initial” façade inspections for decades. The deadline for an initial inspection would have been the year 2045 for Salesforce East and the year 2046 for 1400 Mission. However, both buildings now face an emergency 14-day inspection deadline following this week’s window failures.
The problem plagued Millennium Tower, at 301 Mission Street, also reported a window failure on Tuesday.
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While that building – completed in 2009 -- also previously qualified for the inspection exemption … inspectors had already ordered a full façade inspection after a 2020 failure of a window that was left open in high winds.
Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin said Friday that in light of the failures with three newer buildings, it’s time to end the 30-year inspection exemption. He pointed to what happened at the Salesforce East building as an example of the hidden danger that might have been addressed if it hadn't been exempted from an initial façade inspection until 2045. On Tuesday more than a dozen windows broke or cracked, at least one each from the 11th to 30th floor, sending shards of glass raining down on the street.
“This obviously made sense when it was drafted – to concentrate on older buildings — but now we have a rash of virtually brand new buildings and we have rethink this entire inspection dynamic,” Peskin said.
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The current law requires façade inspections for older buildings, with more than five stories, by 2021 – but only if they were built before 1910. Supervisor Peskin says city officials tell him that 40% of the buildings that qualify for those inspections have failed to meet that deadline to do the façade inspections.
According to current city standards, 502 structures built between 1910-1925 era structures will come due for inspection by the end of this year. A total of 438 buildings, built between 1926-1970, will be due for inspections at the end of 2025. And 249 buildings, built between 1970 and 1998, will be due for inspection in 2027.
Two other older high rises hit by recent window failures, Fox Plaza at 1390 Market Street, and 555 California Street were due for inspections by 2025, under the rules – but both must now be inspected within 14 days due to window failures. Although building inspection records show an 11th floor window blew out back in 2016 at 555 California, the city records do not indicate that the city inspector required a complete façade inspection before closing the case in 2017.
Another building where a window failed this week – At 50 California – was not set for a façade inspection until 2027. Now, because of the window failure, it will also require an inspection within 14 days.
Supervisor Peskin says he wants emergency inspections of 180 of the city’s tallest buildings. He says he is working with the mayor’s office about an emergency order to get it done soon, but stresses any such order would need the approval of the Board of Supervisors.
