Repairs would empty U.N.

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NEW YORK — 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.

Moving approximately 4,500 people out of the glass-and-marble landmark will increase the cost of temporary office space, according to diplomats briefed on the plan, but significantly cut down on construction costs and speed up the work.

"I think we are doing well," said Michael Adlerstein, the newly hired executive director of the Capital Master Plan, as the renovation effort is known.

"The architects and engineers are on it. We have 90 percent of the construction documents. We are going to tweak [the plan] again for value engineering. We'll see where you can change systems or phasing to save money."

Skanskia Building USA, an internationally known construction behemoth, has been hired to oversee the construction, which is to end by 2014.

Mr. Adlerstein refused to discuss specifics before they have been vetted by U.N. management committees, but in a recent interview he seemed optimistic that he could bring the project back to budget and make up for lost time.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office has affirmed the need to overhaul the U.N. buildings, and there has been little resistance, in principle, from member states. However, the costs associated with the project have been difficult to resolve, leading to painful and protracted discussions that participants describe as both fiscal and political.