EARTHQUAKE / The Long Road Back : Slow Days for Mauled Mall : Northridge Center, Badly Damaged in Quake, to Partly Reopen in 6 Months

The Northridge Fashion Center, by far the mall most severely damaged by last week’s earthquake, will partially reopen within about six months, its new owners told tenants Wednesday.

But some of the mall’s six big department stores could remain closed for at least a year.

The lengthy closure of the mall--whose $350 million in total annual sales make it one of Southern California’ largest shopping centers--could mean the loss of millions of dollars in revenues for merchants and possible unemployment for many of the mall’s 2,500 employees.

Many area shoppers may need to drive miles farther to alternate malls, such as Glendale Galleria or Topanga Plaza.

On Wednesday, tenants were told by officials of Dallas-based MEPC America Properties Inc., which bought the Northridge mall in December, that there was minimal structural damage to the central part of the complex, apart from the department stores.

It hasn’t been decided yet how many repaired stores it will take to justify reopening part of the mall, located about a mile from the quake’s epicenter.

The biggest obstacle to the reopening now is not the condemned Bullock’s department store and two collapsed parking structures, nor the cartloads of broken glass, fallen ceiling tiles, cracked drywall and mangled aluminum wall studs. It’s the cancer-causing asbestos that was dislodged by the massive quake that will now have to be carefully removed.

Inside the mall, the main passageways and common areas have been swept clean of the glass, fallen ceiling tiles and merchandise that crashed through the storefronts. Plastic sheets covered the stores.

As they left the tenants meeting, shopkeepers worried about what they might find behind the plastic sheets.

Those likely to be hardest hit are the small proprietors who are not part of a large chain. Harry Duhanci, owner of the Caprice collectibles shop, said he has no earthquake insurance. After looking into it three years ago, he found that such coverage would have tripled his insurance payments.

Now the loss of his business, even temporarily, is “like a second earthquake,” he said.

Mall workers also worried about their future. While many of the department stores are trying to find places for employees at other locations, other workers may not be as fortunate.

Nancy Mather, an employee at Country Works, a collectibles shop in the mall, said she has already filed for unemployment and will start looking for another job. “Everyone is in the same boat,” she said. “With so many other people looking, I don’t know what my options are.”

Zach Rouse, a Chatsworth High School senior who works at WaldenBooks, said he hopes to find work at another bookstore in the chain. “I need the cash,” he said.

For several department stores, the time it will take them to reopen remains uncertain.

Bullock’s spokeswoman Betty Crogh said the company hasn’t decided whether the store will be rebuilt, a task that would take up to 18 months.

Meanwhile, the J.C. Penney store may not reopen for more than a year, company officials said. Sears is aiming for a late-fall reopening, spokesman Gordon Jones said. Officials at Robinsons-May, which has two stores at Northridge Fashion Center, and officials at the Broadway said they are still assessing the damage.

As for MEPC, it has earthquake insurance, but a company official declined to say what damages might be covered.

MEPC also has business-interruption insurance that will cover the loss of rents while the mall is closed, said John Graham, vice president of property management at MEPC.

But tenants are responsible for fixing any damages inside their shops, he said.

Meanwhile, other San Fernando Valley malls continued their quake recovery efforts.

Topanga Plaza in Canoga Park is planning to reopen Friday, although its four department stores will remain closed for a few weeks to a few months.

Saks Fifth Avenue said it will not reopen its earthquake-damaged store at the Promenade in Woodland Hills, a decision that will idle 131 employees.

Times staff writer George White contributed to this report.