Northridge Meadows to Be Razed

For more than eight months, the listing hulk of the Northridge Meadows Apartments complex has haunted the 9500 block of Reseda Boulevard, a constant reminder of the 16 deaths that occurred there during the Jan. 17 Northridge earthquake.

On Thursday, attorneys and city officials say, Northridge Meadows finally will start coming down.

The final demolition of Northridge Meadows will take about a month, according to Los Angeles attorney Robert Freedman, who represents owners Shashikant and Renuka Jogani in several wrongful death lawsuits resulting from the collapse of the 164-unit complex in the moments following the magnitude 6.8 temblor.

City officials said they expect to award a $281,500 demolition contract Wednesday to Cleveland Wrecking Co., the lowest bidder. The following day, Freedman said, the contractor will set up offices and begin demolition.

Federal funds will be used for the demolition under a Federal Emergency Management Agency program that has already resulted in the demolition of 134 quake-damaged buildings since February. Another 96 buildings are targeted for demolition under the program, according to a spokesman for the city Department of Public Works.

Northridge Meadows, site of the largest concentration of earthquake fatalities, is located in one of 13 so-called “ghost towns” of vacant, quake-damaged buildings in the San Fernando Valley. It also is the subject of seven lawsuits alleging that construction and design defects contributed to the fatal collapse of the three-story building’s first floor. The 16 tenants who died all lived in first-floor apartments.

Earlier, a court order had precluded demolition of Northridge Meadows until structural engineers and other experts could comb through the 156,000-square-foot building for evidence of what may have caused the collapse.

Freedman said 49 people, including former tenants, relatives and heirs of the 16 people who died, have joined the legal actions against his clients.

A trial to determine whether negligence played a role in the collapse is scheduled to begin in March in San Fernando Superior Court. If some or all of the defendants, which include the architect, engineers and builder, are found liable, a second round of litigation will follow to determine damages.