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Facade of downtown state building buckling


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Guest donaltopablo

I'll try and find some pictures of this...

Facade of downtown state building buckling

By JEFFRY SCOTT and WALTER WOODS

Atlanta Journal-Constitution Staff Writers

With pedestrians 16 stories below and the facade of the 2 Peachtree Building buckling above, Atlanta Police and the Georgia Building Authority closed sidewalks and part of the Five Points MARTA Station Plaza Monday and Tuesday.

Crews worked to repair the office tower that was once a city landmark and has become an albatross costing at least $112 million to renovate since it was given to the state 10 years ago.

Building authority officials discovered Monday that the glass and steel skin on the 16th, 17th, and 18th floors of the 41-story building had pulled away from the main tower of the building by about six inches over the weekend.

The damage appears to be unrelated to the renovation, said Georgia Building authority public information officer Alisa Pereira.

"We think it was probably due to the high winds last Friday," said Pereira Tuesday. "We immediately began a plan of action to stabilize the outer wall" using cables.

Architects examining the damage noticed similar repair work had been done to the facade of the building sometime before it was purchased by the Woodruff Foundation and donated to the state in 1992, said Pereira.

More than 4,000 employees work in the 1 million-square-foot building, but only about 100 employees at the Department of Human Resources, on the 15th, 16th, 18th and 19th floors, were relocated to other parts of the building Monday.

GBA asked some businesses in the plaza to close and they complied, including Accessory Land, Haircare Outlet, Fashions Expo and BestPrice Fashions.

Officers cordoned off part of the plaza to detour commuters and shoppers. The plaza could open tomorrow or in a few days.

GBA has installed cables and other supports to secure the facade on the three floors and prevent further separation. An ongoing inspection of the building has found no similar problems on other floors.

Architects and engineers are working on a long-term fix. No cost estimate has been made.

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