Overview
- NIST’s National Construction Safety Team concluded the collapse initiated in early June 2021 when two connections between garage columns and the pool deck failed, and those failures produced growing cracks and redistributed loads over about three weeks before the structure fell on June 24, 2021.
- The agency says the specific mechanism was the loss of support where vertical garage columns met the pool‑deck slab, which allowed cracks to spread in the deck and shift weight onto other elements until the building could no longer carry the load.
- Public records show the pool deck and the garage ceiling had long‑running problems, with repair needs documented as early as 1996 and a 2018 structural survey reporting major pool‑deck damage and failed waterproofing.
- Investigators previously reported in 2023 that the pool‑deck construction deviated from design and that slab reinforcement over some columns was inadequate, and NIST now plans to finish its final report after completing the bulk of its technical testing and replica tests.
- The June 24, 2021 collapse killed 98 people, the site was sold to Damac Properties in 2022 which helped fund a $1 billion settlement, and the developer’s planned replacement tower is paused while a nearby memorial pledged funds has not yet been built.