Demolition Is Urged for Two CSUN Structures : Quake: Engineering report says damages to parking garage and apartment complex are too severe to repair.

The partially collapsed Cal State Northridge parking structure and the seven-story University Tower Apartments sustained such severe damage in the January earthquake that they should be demolished rather than repaired, the university’s chief damage consultant has recommended.

In newly released reports, the Los Angeles-based engineering firm of Law/Crandall Inc. told university officials that it would be difficult to salvage the still-standing portions of the 2,500-space garage and that the dormitory is so battered that having repair workers in the building would be hazardous.

The two structures are the only ones on the 353-acre campus that the consultant will recommend for demolition, said Chris Baylis, Law/Crandall’s senior projects manager at CSUN. Even so, university officials said they plan to sponsor additional reviews of the two structures before making final decisions.

In the three months since the 6.8-magnitude Northridge earthquake jolted Southern California and damaged virtually every major building at CSUN, campus officials have consistently maintained that talk of potential demolitions was premature.

The reports estimate the university’s loss for the two structures alone would be about $51.8 million. That is based on estimated replacement costs of approximately $27.3 million for the parking structure, including nearly $1.6 million in demolition expenses, and about $24.4 million for the high-rise, including $1.3 million for demolition and asbestos abatement.

On the Northridge campus, students and faculty have widely assumed the remains of the parking structure built in 1991--which became one of the most visible symbols of the quake’s power--will be demolished. The Law/Crandall report said about half of the four-level concrete garage on Zelzah Avenue is still standing.

The firm’s report, however, added, “We believe it would be difficult to selectively demolish in order to reuse parts of the structure” and cited cracks in the exterior concrete columns of the still-standing portions. Therefore, “We are making a preliminary recommendation to demolish the entire structure,” the report said.

The tower apartments, built in the late 1960s but closed since 1991 because of seismic safety and asbestos hazards, sustained “widespread and severe” structural damage in the January quake, according to that building’s report. In particular, enclosed stairways in the building’s four wings have separated from the main structure by up to 8 inches.

Even before the quake, university officials had considered demolishing the tower, saying it is too expensive to repair. The Law/Crandall report reinforces that plan, concluding, “Due to the hazards of working in the damaged structure, the extensive damage and deficiencies in the overall structural system, we do not believe it is reasonable to repair the structure.”

* CSUN DAMAGE: Repair estimate tops $111 million. A1