Authorities are considering emptying the massive U.N. headquarters building for at least three years to get a long-delayed renovation project back on track and on budget, according to people who have been briefed on the plan.
Member states' deliberations and security considerations have left the $1.8 billion renovation a year behind schedule, with every month adding roughly $10 million to the overall cost of the project.
Now the construction officials are considering emptying and rehabbing the 39-story Secretariat building on New York's East River all at once, abandoning a controversial plan to do the work in 10-floor sections of an otherwise occupied building.
Critics have long complained about the plan's risks, noting that the tower is 44 years old, riddled with asbestos and lacking a sprinkler system.