Crumbling U.N. Seeks $1 Billion for Renovation

[The Mad Monk]

Crumbling U.N. Seeks $1 Billion for Renovation

Friday, June 27, 2003
By Eric Shawn


UNITED NATIONS — A contentious United Nations (search) debate is brewing — and this time it's not over Iraq. It's all about who pays to maintain the U.N. itself.


The U.N.'s two 50-year-old buildings in New York City are basically falling apart — decaying pipes and crumbling ceilings are now commonplace — and the U.N. is seeking an interest-free loan worth more than $1 billion to renovate its headquarters.

Who will pay to fix the 1952 original plumbing, get rid of asbestos and raise security fences? Repairs would cost U.S. taxpayers about $600 million over 30 years.

Critics want the U.N. to pay for the renovation itself.

The sour economy means Americans are not exactly in the giving mood. That, along with the U.N.'s foot-dragging over the war in Iraq, has sparked outrage.

"It is irrational, it is simply just looking to the United States to pay that which we should not have to pay," Leo Kayser III, former director of the U.N. Development Corporation (search), said. "We have no commitment, there is no legal basis for it."

And the problems go far beyond the need for a new paint job. Jon Clarkson, program director of the capital master plan, pointed out that dangerous materials are being inhaled by everyone in the buildings.

"Air-handling units provide heating and air conditioning for the office building," he said. "There are 3,000 air-handling units [which have] asbestos and hazardous materials behind them."

And it's not just asbestos. There are no firewalls or sprinklers — a violation of current building codes. And the heating and steam systems dating to the 1950s are on the verge of collapse.

Toshiyuki Niwa, who is leading the renovation project, said the U.N. wants to borrow $1.2 billion for the repairs. And he wants the United States to put up the cash.

The U.N. would repay the principal on the loan over 30 years, leaving Americans to pay the interest — some half a billion dollars' worth.

"It is an established norm set by the host countries following the example set by the U.S. government after World War II to provide an interest-free loan," Niwa said.

The United States already writes a much heftier check to fund the U.N. than any other country.

The General Assembly (search) decided that the U.N. should not rely more on one member to finance its operations than another, and established a "ceiling" rate, setting the highest amount any country is assessed, according to the State Department (search).

The Assembly revised the scale of assessments in 2002. As part of that agreement, the regular budget maximum was reduced from 25 to 22 percent — the rate at which the U.S. is assessed for the regular budget.

The U.S. is the only member that pays this rate; all other members’ assessment rates are lower. For example, Japan, Italy and Canada contributed, respectively, 19.6 percent, 5.1 percent and 2.6 percent to the regular U.N. budget for 2001, according to the State Department.

President Bush now has to decide whether to request the interest-free loan in the fiscal budget for 2005. And then Congress has to decide for the American people whether to fortify the U.N. or to let it whither on the vine.

Fox News' Amy C. Sims contributed to this report.

http://www.foxmarketwire.com/story/0,2933,90652,00.html

I understand from people that have been there that there are many areas where the walls haven't been painted in years, and the toilets don't work.

I just want to know four things:

Where the hell was the UN maintenance department all these years?

One billion dollars for renovations!?

We trust these people to manage development programs elsewhere?

Would this be a good time for them to leave?

[Nubclear]

The wording choices inside the article made me know it was Fox News even before I scrolled to see the link..

[HershOstropoler]

Originally posted by The Mad Monk


Would this be a good time for them to leave?

Yes. Geneva or Vienna will be happy to host the UN headquarters.

[Saras]

Vilnius real estate is way cheaper. Our maverick (read "former Mafia" ) developers would build you a Babel tower for $1bil Maybe even a couple of those.

[Saras]

VILNIUS!!!

[ixnay]

They should hold a bake sale.

[Nubclear]

Originally posted by Saras
VILNIUS!!!

[The Mad Monk]

Here you go then (my emphasis in bold):

Press Briefing on Capital Master Plan
By Joseph Connor
Under Secretary General for Management
July 25, 2000
The United Nations Headquarters complex in New York would undergo a six- year, $964-million refurbishment, possibly including expansion, according to a Capital Master Plan presented to correspondents at a Headquarters press briefing this afternoon by Under-Secretary-General for Management Joseph E. Connor, and Assistant Secretary-General for Central Support Services, Toshiyuki Niwa.

The Plan was developed as part of a thorough Secretariat review of the physical needs of the ageing landmark structures, built between 1949 and 1961, which found that "major repair, equipment replacement and refurbishing were unavoidable". The review outlined the financial implications of various maintenance strategies over a twenty-five year period, comparing the cost of ad hoc repairs with that of a comprehensive renovation.

"At the end of twenty-five years it doesn't matter what we do, we will have charged the Member States exactly the same amount of money... The difference is that we get a substantially refurbished complex under the Capital Master Plan, and we get a building in dire need of repair if we don't", said Under-Secretary- General Connor.

The review found that maintenance could not keep pace with structural repairs required for major plumbing leaks, rusting rail supports, soaked roofing material and the original, 50-year-old electrical wiring. And the Headquarters buildings no longer comply with current fire safety codes and environmental standards. There was for example, no sprinkler system in the high-rise building and asbestos were present. Handicapped accessibility standards and security requirements were also not being met. Finally, the buildings were extremely energy-inefficient.

Messrs. Connor and Niwa said the ad hoc repair strategy, which they termed the "reactive approach", was just as expensive as the Master Plan, if the continued high-energy costs were added to emergency repair costs. Worse, code and standard violations would not be rectified, and the emergency repairs would still be going on after the 25-year period.

The General Assembly would probably need to meet in one of the Conference Rooms for one year's session during the renovation, they said. But the benefit of the Master Plan, as they presented it, would be the creation of "swing space" needed to accommodate the 33 per cent of staff that would need to be relocated from the Secretariat under the six-year plan.

The space requirement -- from 201,000 to 230,000 square feet -- could be met by leasing, in a way that would eventually confer ownership on the United Nations, or by construction. Construction options included a 10-story vertical addition to the Secretariat, the replacement of the South Annex, and an addition above the Library.

It was hoped that the "swing space" could be used after the period of renovation for various needs of the organization, they said. In addition, other improvements will be proposed along with the Master Plan, including expanded conference space and a "Visitor's Experience" project to greatly enhance tourist facilities. "We expect that this project will be of great interest to the city and the state", Mr. Niwa said.

Mr. Connor laid out various financing options for the Capital Master Plan, all of which relied heavily on Member States' participation. The options involved special assessments, incorporation into the programme budget, and voluntary contributions, utilizing either cash payments or deferred payments based on various loan mechanisms. Mr. Connor noted that, even when the interest was figured into the cost of the project, the cost of the Capital Master Plan over 25 years could be almost identical to that of the "reactive approach" -- while, of course, resulting in a completely renovated complex.

A summary of the Plan was presented to Member States on 18 July, awaiting the full plan due in early August. It would be submitted to the General Assembly this fall.

A correspondent asked whether the city was privy to any of the building plans, specifically those related to off-site buildings depicted in the Master Plan. Under-Secretary-General Connor replied that no specific locations had yet been proposed for the off-site options. In any case, he said, for all real-estate matters, the United Nations worked through the United Nations Development Corporation (UNDC), which was a corporation set up to assist the United Nations with its property needs.

Various correspondents wondered about the design integrity of the possible additions being proposed. Messrs. Connor and Niwa said that no architectural drawings for those additions yet existed, and that there would be competition for architectural contracts for whatever portions of the Master Plan were given the go-ahead. They would be sensitive to neighbourhood concerns about green areas and views, they said, and they reacted favourably to a suggestion that any surviving architects, of the original Headquarters design be consulted.

Other correspondents asked about the reactions of Member States to the cost of the project. Mr. Connor said that most Member States are aware of the problems and many building users are worried about such hazards as the high reading of electromagnetic fields. "We have heard people say 'Yes, there is a need.' We haven't yet heard, 'Yes, we're going to pay our share'".

There had been, at various times, positive interest from various governments in capital improvements, but no major commitments yet for this Plan. The voluntary contribution route would be tried, but 90 per cent of the proposed work was in refurbishment, which had less appeal for fundraising, even though there were ways of making the contributions tax-deductible. The mixed-loan options seemed at this point the most probable financing means.

Download the Capital Master Plan here. You need Adobe Acrobat to view it.

http://216.239.37.100/search?q=cache...hl=en&ie=UTF-8

God Bless Google Cache.

[Nubclear]

I would support moving the UN HQ to Vienna or Geneva.

New York really does not deserve it, especially after Americas defiance towards the UN.

[The Mad Monk]

Why haven't they been doing improvements over time, instead of waiting for everything to go to ****?

[The Mad Monk]

Note that that press briefing is from 2000.

[HershOstropoler]

Originally posted by The Mad Monk
Why haven't they been doing improvements over time, instead of waiting for everything to go to ****?

Maybe they had to cut back on maintenance for the time period that America did not pay it's membership fees?

[yavoon]

1 billion sounds about right. the UN is the ultimate beaurocracy. I wouldn't be surprised if a memo in the UN costs 15000 dollars.

[Saras]

Originally posted by Tassadar5000

Coming from an expert in CEE Real Estate.

[HershOstropoler]

Hell, maybe UN toilet seats are even more expensive than in the US military.

[The Mad Monk]

What's the total annual UN budget?

[DRoseDARs]

I am very much NOT anti-U.N. Quite the opposite actually. However, I firmly believe it is high time the U.N. relocated its headquarters to a more deserving and worthy host nation. The United States has abused and denigrated the organization for far too long.

I would agree that Switzerland would make a far better location than New York. Other places that would also be better exist, I'm sure, but I would choose Geneva because of that country's usual neutrality in the midst of hostilities.

[HershOstropoler]

UN budget is about 1 billion/year, excluding suborganisations.

[Saras]

Originally posted by HershOstropoler
Hell, maybe UN toilet seats are even more expensive than in the US military.

Black operations of teh UN are bigger in scope than those of the US. It's a freemason conspiracy, after all.

[Saras]

Budget

The budget for the two years 2000-2001 is $2,535 million. The main source of funds is the contributions of Member States, which are assessed on a scale approved by the General Assembly.

The fundamental criterion on which the scale of assessments is based is the capacity of countries to pay. This is determined by considering their relative shares of total gross national product, adjusted to take into account a number of factors, including their per capita incomes.

In addition, countries are assessed -- in accordance with a modified version of the basic scale -- for the costs of peacekeeping operations, which stood at around $2 billion in 2000.

from un.org

[The Mad Monk]

Just for comparison's sake: The Empire State Building.

http://www.famusoa.net/ibs/proj/ornl/cs/cs.php3?004

Lighting Retrofit This award-winning project consisted of the replacement of over 30,000 light fixtures with “energy efficient equivalents,” according to Empire State Building managers. Consequently, lighting levels were not reduced in any areas of the building, and actually enhanced in some other locations. The retrofit not only reduced electrical energy consumption by an estimated 30%, but also reduced the cost of periodic replacement of light bulbs due to longer lamp life. As lamp replacement is highly labor intensive, the labor cost savings more than offset the higher cost of the more energy efficient lamps.

Window Replacement The building’s 6400 original windows were replaced with aluminum, double hung, thermopane windows manufactured by Traco. (http://www.traco.com) In addition to doubling the “R” value over nearly 180,000 s.f. of the building’s exterior envelope, the windows can be cleaned from the inside. The original windows required exterior cleaning using harnesses attached to hooks embedded in the limestone exterior. Although no window cleaners were ever killed or seriously injured, the interior cleaning feature reduces the hazard and its attendant liability. The window replacement is part of a $66 million, 7 year renovation program which also includes improvements to the souvenir area, renovation of the observatory deck and fence, computerization of the elevator system, state-of-the-art fire and security systems, new entrance gates and loading docks.

Other Improvements Other improvements made during the lighting retrofit included conversion of the chiller plants to dual electric and steam usage, and the upgrading of all water pumps to high-efficiency electric models. The original air conditioning system was installed in 1950 and upgraded in 1984 and 1998. The air conditioning system provides 7450 tons of refrigeration and changes the air 6 times each hour.

[yavoon]

Originally posted by HershOstropoler
Hell, maybe UN toilet seats are even more expensive than in the US military.

I agree america can not afford both wastes of expenditure. so I say we should buy some toilet paper for our troops and just move on!

[HershOstropoler]

MM, that's comparing apples and oranges. It all depends on the renovation needs.

But 1 billion $ for 20.000 m2 (is that the total area?) sounds an awful lot. What does it cost to build an office tower that size?

[Nubclear]

Originally posted by Saras


Coming from an expert in CEE Real Estate.

Vilnius is hardly a worthy city, especially due to its support for an ILLEGAL war that was HIGHLY opposed by the members of the UN and the world in general

[The Mad Monk]

In today's costs? I'm not sure, I'll check.

The Empire State Buiding cost forty million, but that was in the thirties.

[Saras]

Originally posted by Tassadar5000


Vilnius is hardly a worthy city, especially due to its support for an ILLEGAL war that was HIGHLY opposed by the members of the UN and the world in general

Members of the UN, such as Iraq, Iran, Libya, Sudan, Syria, etc.

[Saras]

You could build in Vilnius for under EUR 1500/sqm. Land included. VILNIUS!! "doitnow!"

[The Mad Monk]

This is the Goldman Sachs tower, being built in Jersey City just across the river from Manhattan, at a cost of $650 million:



42 stories.

The complex will consist of a 42-story, 1.5 million sq ft (139,350 m2) office tower and a 15-story, 500,000 sq ft (46,450 m2) mixed-use facility. The two structures will be joined by a 135 ft (41 m) tall glass structure that will encompass 25,000 sq ft (2,323 m2) of space. Called The Terraces, this structure will be open to the public and will offer a climate-controlled environment from which to view Manhattan. Four levels of parking below the complex will accommodate approximately 1,400 vehicles.

http://www.wirednewyork.com/skyscrap...on/default.htm

[Nubclear]

Originally posted by Saras


Members of the UN, such as Iraq, Iran, Libya, Sudan, Syria, etc.

Or France, Germany, Spain, UK, Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, Canada, Russia.........

Need I remind people of the numerous polls taken, and the "infamous" 2 ovations at the UN (In support of Russia and France)?

[Saras]

The land there is owned by Tony Soprano, right?