Downer EDI Works city maintenance contractor Peter Leith came upon the incident moments after it occurred about 12.15pm and said it was lucky no-one was killed.
‘‘It only just missed a woman who was walking past. If she had been a couple of seconds earlier, she might not be in a very good state.''
The glass fell from a window on the corner of Princess St and Liverpool St about 12.15pm.
The south-bound lanes of Princes St were narrowed to one lane for an hour while the glass was cleaned up. Mr Leith said the window had been left open and it had blown out in strong winds.
A MetService spokeswoman said wind in the city was gusting up to 52kmh at the time.
Mr Leith was concerned a dozen other still-open windows could blow out.
Building owner McEwan Group representative Paul Baines said the windows had been left open by youths who broke into the building regularly.
‘‘It's frustrating. They break ground-floor windows to get in. We put boards up to cover them again . . . and in the most recent entry they drilled holes in the boards to get in.''
Mr Baines said burglar alarms were about to be installed in the building and he hoped it would decrease the level of unlawful entry.
The installation was part of preparations for the proposed redevelopment of the building into a hotel/apartment complex.
Work will start this week on cleaning and clearing out parts of the building so construction work on hotel rooms and apartments can start in June.
- In March 2006, a steel window sash and pane of glass blew out from the sixth floor of the same building and fell on to a parked car.
