Office construction blamed for sinking building: San Mateo Rite Aid sues over groundwater pumping at Hines redevelopment

Hines is nearing completion on its project that will create more than 276,000 square feet of office space and almost 140,000 square feet of at-grade and underground parking between two buildings at a 3.3-acre property near the Hayward Park Caltrain Station.

Construction of the project that’s been nearly six years in the making is allegedly affecting more than its neighbor’s views.

Thrifty Payless claims its building sustained $2.5 million in damages with portions of it sinking up to 9 inches since water was removed from soil across the street, according to the lawsuit filed in San Mateo County Superior Court Monday.

The water table sits about 5 feet below ground at the site that’s situated about a mile and a half from the Bay. Constructing the large office buildings, as well as underground parking, required significant excavations and lowering the ground water level, according to the suit.

It’s an issue currently playing out on a much grander scale in San Francisco. Groundwater pumping during construction of the new Transbay Terminal has also been blamed for the massive 58-story luxury Millennium Tower condominium high-rise sinking and tilting.

To create the large office complex at 400 and 450 Concar Drive in San Mateo, Hines drained millions of gallons of water from the soil to construct two levels of underground parking, according to the suit.

Hines reportedly installed 40 dewatering wells between the two buildings separated by highway ramps leading on and off State Route 92.

Between April 2015 and February 2016, an estimated 13.2 million gallons of groundwater were extracted from the 400 Concar Drive construction site. Then beginning in July 2015 and through April 2016, another 29.6 million gallons of groundwater were pumped out of 450 Concar Drive, according to the suit.

Shortly after the groundwater pumping began, in June 2015, Rite Aid employees began to notice damage to the building such as cracking drywall and doors sticking, according to the suit. By July 2015, significant cracks began to develop in the building’s floor slab and grew more severe over the following months, according to the suit.

Thrifty has a ground lease for the property on which it has a 58,000-square-foot building that sits atop a concrete slab and has predominately wood-framed walls, according to the suit.

The building is occupied by Rite Aid’s pharmacy and a Ross Dress for Less at the shopping center northeast of the State Route 92 and Highway 101 juncture.

The Peninsula Ballet Theatre, T.J. Maxx and a Trader Joe’s are also located nearby.

After Rite Aid employees began to notice damages such as the sticking doors, the property owner hired engineers to investigate the cause. A subsequent floor level survey revealed up to 9.4 inches of elevation difference across areas of the building’s concrete slab, according to the suit.

The floor sank between 3 and 5 inches near interior columns holding up the roof, and in one location the 9-inch difference was recorded, according to the suit.

Thrifty blames the Hines construction, alleging that dewatering the office complex site led to the neighboring property also losing a significant amount of groundwater, according to the suit.

Thrifty seeks at least $2.5 million for building repairs, as well as other fees related to repairs and the lawsuit.

Hines is not the only construction underway at the San Mateo juncture. The long-planned for 12-acre Station Park Green project is also ramping up construction after tearing down the former Kmart building along Delaware Street and Concar Drive. Essex Property and Trust, the state’s second largest apartment building owner, is building 599 residential units and retail space just north of Hines.

The San Mateo City Council originally approved the Hines redevelopment in 2010, before construction began in early 2015.

An attorney representing Thrifty and a Hines spokesman said they would not comment on pending litigation.

samantha@smdailyjournal.com

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