A year after a window broke in high winds at San Francisco’s Millennium Tower, building officials have made slow progress in addressing the issue. They recently informed the city that stronger equipment has been installed to secure windows in 29 out of 419 units in the high-rise.
The incident occurred on March 21 last year when a window on the 49th level of the tower at 301 Mission St. flapped in high winds and eventually broke. While most of the debris ended up inside the unit, some glass flew across the street and broke windows at the Salesforce East building. Fortunately, no one was injured.
The Millennium Tower was one of several high-rises in San Francisco to experience window failures during windstorms in 2023. In response, Supervisor Aaron Peskin pushed for legislation requiring visual inspections of windows in 78 newer high-rise buildings in the city to ensure safety.
Peskin emphasized the danger posed by such incidents, stating, “It’s just plain dangerous. I mean, it’s just a matter of time until glass is raining down and kills somebody on the street.”
The Department of Building Inspection now issues weather alerts urging high-rise owners to ensure that operable windows are closed and latched during high winds.
Despite these efforts, the Millennium Tower continues to face challenges with its windows. Last year’s incident was preceded by a similar one in 2020, prompting demands for stronger stay arms to secure opened windows. However, when the window failed in 2023, Millennium officials cited delays in receiving improved stay arms from China.
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As of the end of February, new arms have been installed in 29 upper-floor units of the building. Millennium officials attribute the slow progress to the complexity of replacing windows in larger units, which can take up to a week.
Meanwhile, Millennium officials claim that visual inspections suggest all windows are stable and safe. However, under Peskin’s ordinance, the tower has until the end of next month to complete visual checks on all windows along with detailed inspections of 25% of them.
