Crane crashes into the Times office building amid fierce Milton winds

During Hurricane Milton's raging winds, a crane collapsed in downtown St. Petersburg on Wednesday evening – leaving a gaping hole in an office building that houses several businesses, including the Tampa Bay Times.

The crane fell from the Residences at 400 Central, the 46-story skyscraper built across from the Times office, as the storm swept through the region.

The crane broke down on 1st Avenue South early Thursday, completely blocking the street.

The city said in a press release that there were no injuries at the scene. The building damaged by the crane had already been closed before Milton's arrival on Wednesday. No one from the Times newsroom was working inside when the crane collapsed.

The eight-story, 250,000-square-foot space at 490 First Ave. S consists of three buildings built in 1924, 1968 and 1988 and are connected to each other. Times Publishing Co., parent company of the Tampa Bay Times, sold the building to a joint venture of Convergent Capital Partners and Denholtz Associates in 2016, but remained a tenant.

The National Weather Service said it received reports of several collapsed cranes due to strong winds in St. Petersburg, which is about 50 miles north of Siesta Key, where Milton made landfall.

Mayor Ken Welch on Tuesday urged residents living in buildings next to three construction sites in downtown St. Petersburg and one in the Carillon area to move or take other precautions because of safety concerns about neighboring high-rise cranes.

“We can confirm that a crane cabin at the top of the mast collapsed,” said John Catsimatidis, CEO of Red Apple Group, which is developing the 400 Central skyscraper. “We are working with city officials and others to assess the situation.”

City building official Don Tire said the three cranes at 400 Central were designed to handle winds of up to 110 miles per hour. Other cranes are designed to handle wind speeds of up to 145 miles per hour, he said.

At 515 feet tall, the building is the tallest in the city and the tallest residential tower on Florida's Gulf Coast.

Michael Kotler, a resident of the 12th floor of the McNulty Building in downtown St. Petersburg, said he heard what he thought was thunder around 10 p.m

But it only happened once.

He looked out the window and saw a crane from the 400 Central construction site leaning against the Times building.

Early Thursday, a palm tree lay tangled in the wreckage of the crane. Smoke rose from the damaged building. The air smelled of gasoline as the alarm blared.

Shattered glass covered the steps. A window outside Karma Juice Bar & Eatery, located on the first floor, was completely blown out. On one of the top floors, shutters blew in the still-whipping wind.

The lights in the lobby stayed on.

Two brothers climbed through the destruction and took photos in the dark.

Bricks lay scattered on the street.

Joe Lindquist, 32, of St. Petersburg, said he knew Hurricane Milton would be severe. But what he saw was still amazing.

“I didn’t think it would bring down a crane.”

Times staff writers Colleen Wright, Rebecca Liebson and Max Chesnes and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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