Crane Collapse Caused $83M In Damage To Luxury High-Rise

A luxury Manhattan apartment building suffered more than $80M in damage after a crane at an adjacent construction site caught fire and collapsed.

The interior of 555Ten following a crane collapse next door.
Facebook/New York City Fire Department (FDNY)
The Interior Of 555Ten Following A Crane Collapse Next Door.

The plummeting 180-foot crane arm came crashing down onto Extell Development and RXR Realty’s luxury Midtown West apartments, 555Ten, from a construction site at 550 10th Ave. last July, injuring a dozen people, including three firefighters. 

The bill for the damage done to the building amounts to $82.8M, according to servicer commentary from the Morningstar Credit database. The damage resulted in certain apartments being marked uninhabitable by the New York City Department of Buildings, forcing tenants to vacate, PIX11 reported.

The high-rise at 555 10th Ave. has apartments going for more than $5K a month for a one-bedroom and as much as $11,500 a month for a three-bedroom unit, according to the development’s website.

Representatives from RXR and Extell didn't respond to Bisnow's request for comment. 

Its 30K SF of amenity space includes a rooftop pool and lounge, which was used by firefighters to spray water across the street to stop the blaze. As of October, it was still reportedly closed to residents.

What was it like responding to yesterday’s crane fire and collapse? Take look at the footage from #FDNY Robotics Unit drones. The drones were an integral part of an operation that had the FDNY putting out the fire, evacuating tenants, and assessing structural damage. pic.twitter.com/LncodGz7mg

— FDNY (@FDNY) July 27, 2023

Construction on 555Ten wrapped in 2016. The building stands 53 stories tall with 600 units and retail at its base. It was reported that Extell, run by Gary Barnett, was shopping the building in 2018, seeking a nearly $800M payday

Instead, in 2021, Barnett’s firm sold a 42% stake in a portfolio, including 555Ten and EVGB in the East Village, to RXR. At the time, the transaction valued the portfolio at $800M, below its pre-pandemic valuation of $1B, The Financial Times reported.

Construction has resumed at the 550 10th Ave. project, a 47-story apartment tower from developer Gotham Organization. The general contractor on the project, Monadnock Construction, was cited by the city for the crane fire and fined up to $25K, CBS New York reported.

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