Seattle's new City Hall and Justice Center, touted as cutting edge and environmentally friendly, are suffering from a series of defects that range from serious to merely annoying.

Boilers have exploded. Air conditioners aren't working right. A natural ventilation system hasn't worked. Neither have "light shelves," meant to reflect sunlight and take the place of some electric lights. Some bathrooms lack hot water. A much-ballyhooed "green roof" turned brown. And pigeons are pooping all over City Hall.

The flaws could cost up to $5.9 million to fix, according to an early city estimate.

Most of the problems are outlined in a report compiled by city officials that lists about two dozen building problems. The report was disclosed by Mayor Greg Nickels' office after inquiries from The Seattle Times.

Brenda Bauer, director of the city's Fleets and Facilities Department, said such building issues are not unusual.

"Particularly with new buildings, you go through a shakedown process of a couple years," she said. "As you live in it, you find a couple things that didn't work right."

Bauer said the city may pursue warranties, insurance claims or lawsuits against contractors to recover some of the money.

The city's report estimates the price tag at $5.9 million, but Bauer cautioned that's a preliminary figure.

City Councilman Richard Conlin, who has been briefed on the problems, said he is concerned about the issues that have been raised. But overall, he said he was "pretty happy" with the way the new Civic Center buildings have turned out.

"We're kind of on the cutting edge of some of these design issues. It's not surprising some of it hasn't worked as well as we'd hoped and needs adjusting," Conlin said.

$260 million-plus project

The city has spent more than $260 million so far on the Civic Center project, including the $76.6 million City Hall, which opened in 2003. The Justice Center, which houses the Police Department headquarters and Seattle Municipal Court, was finished in 2002 at a cost of $92 million. The project also included improvements to the Seattle Municipal Tower (formerly called Key Tower), including a $4.8 million addition to the base of the building.

Several of the problems are related to features designed to make the buildings more environmentally friendly. The City Council celebrated Earth Day in 2000 by requiring that most new city buildings meet the requirements of the U.S. Green Building Council's "Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design" (LEED) "Silver" standard.

Conlin said the city should remain committed to the LEED program to serve as an example for the private building market, which has shown an increasing interest in green buildings.

"We are a very appropriate pilot project for these kinds of things," he said.

Several of the problems are related to uneven heating and air conditioning at City Hall and the Justice Center. Control systems that operate the equipment aren't working right, leaving some offices too hot and some too cold. The equipment was supposed to make the building more energy efficient, but right now "tenants are uncomfortable and we are wasting money heating/cooling air that is not reaching the end user," the city report says. New systems and repairs could cost as much as $1.6 million.

The $4.8 million vestibule added to the base of the Seattle Municipal Tower has been plagued by a "poorly designed" natural ventilation system. The glass-encased entryway included new escalators and was supposed to make the building more pedestrian friendly. But because it was designed without heaters and dehumidification systems, the area has condensation and wet floors, posing a risk of lawsuits if people slip and fall.

Private tenants of the tower have complained and "may demand rent credits and/or leave the building," according to the city report, which calls the problems "both costly and embarrassing." The cost to install heaters and dehumidifiers is estimated at $475,000.

Though not listed in the defect report, the city's first "green roof," atop the Justice Center, turned brown when most of the plants died because of a "poor soil mix," Bauer acknowledged. Workers have hauled more dirt to the roof and planted a new crop of drought-resistant plants and flowers, which are beginning to sprout in earnest.

Green roofs are supposed to cut down on stormwater runoff, absorb carbon dioxide and reduce energy costs. Bauer said the cost of fixing the Justice Center roof was minor: about $8,000 to buy new plants and soil.

Across the street, at City Hall, horizontal "light shelves" installed by windows in west-facing offices were supposed to cut glare and bounce sunlight off the ceiling to cut the need for electrical lighting. But the shelves are causing glare and heat and are "viewed as both imposing and ugly by occupants," according to the city. The cost to replace them with standard lighting is estimated at $590,000.

Justice Center problems

Other problems do not appear to be related to the environmentally friendly aspects of the buildings. For example, municipal courtrooms have faulty witness lifts that sometimes "fall" several inches while witnesses are on them. (The lifts are designed to help disabled people enter and leave the witness stand.) The cost to repair the lifts could be $100,000 to just rebuild components; it could reach $1 million if the lifts have to be replaced in the future.

Boiler explosions also have occurred at the Justice Center. Bauer said the manufacturer of the boilers has paid for repairs and that an inspection in January concluded they are safe. But the city report suggests replacing the boilers with a different product at an estimated cost of $410,000.

And chillers for air conditioning at the Justice Center were installed in a space with a roof that is too low, preventing workers from getting to them for needed routine maintenance. Without that, the chillers will fail, the city report says. New chillers may have to be installed. Cost: $700,000.

Bathrooms at the Justice Center also lack hot water. That has been a problem for general restroom hygiene as well as for guards "who come into contact with unhygienic prisoners and bodily fluids," the city report says. The cost to fix that problem could be $140,000.

Pigeons are becoming fond of City Hall's south and west facades. The resulting "significant bird droppings" are "creating unsanitary conditions and generating complaints," the city report says.

The city may install $30,000 nets to keep the birds away.

Bauer said the city may hire outside consultants to look at the building issues and determine whether the initial estimates are accurate. She said after some growing pains, the city's new buildings should work out fine.

Jim Brunner: 206-515-5628 or jbrunner@seattletimes.com