From the Ground Up : Rebuilding the Northridge Fashion Center
For the construction workers at the Northridge Fashion Center, the Jan. 17 earthquake is more than just a memory as they busily rebuild the 1.5-million-square-foot structure that was shaken to its foundation.
After initial images of the mall’s flattened garage and crumpled walls were beamed across the country, and after crews began to examine the damage, the mall’s owner--MEPC American Properties of Dallas--announced there was more damage than originally suspected.
The task of rebuilding is squarely in the hands of the workers.
Carpenter Genaro Topete, above, adjusts reinforcing steel bars in a side wall of the Fashion Center’s new southwest parking structure.
Far left, ironworkers Roland Bubion, left, and Juan Arcos fasten the frame of a prefabricated wall for the parking structure.
Tom Pico, left, welds seismic reinforcements for the steel frame of the new Bullock’s department store.
And Javier Hernandez, below left, and Scott Wardlow put the finishing touches on the parking structure’s freshly poured concrete.
Although early estimates put the mall’s reopening in November, it seems that only two anchor stores--The Broadway and Sears--will be ready in time for the holiday shopping season. The rest of the mall is now scheduled to open in the spring.
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