Quake-Wracked Apartments Reopen

With the scent of fresh paint still wafting through the hallways, the Varsity Club Apartments in Northridge were officially reopened Thursday after being vacant for nearly a year and a half because of damage from the Northridge earthquake.

A host of Los Angeles city officials, including Councilman Hal Bernson, were on hand for a ceremony and a tour of the building, which became known as a “ghost town” apartment after the quake.

Of the 301 “ghost town” structures left vacant by the temblor, 95 have been completely repaired, Los Angeles Housing Department officials said.

Gary Mark, who owns the Varsity Club building with his brother Joe, beamed with pride as he showed Bernson around a two-bedroom unit, fully furnished for the occasion to demonstrate how the other 49 luxury apartments in the complex might look when occupied.

“We hope to have new tenants in by June 1,” Mark said. “It feels great to be open again. A year ago, we didn’t know what we were going to do.”

After the earthquake, the Marks had no means to repair the nearly $2 million in damages done to the second level of their four-story structure.

They applied for a Small Business Administration loan but, with no sign of rent revenues coming in from their abandoned complex, the Marks could not prove that they’d be able to repay. Consequently, their development company, Bromark Corp., was denied SBA financing.

Meanwhile, Bromark’s mortgage company was threatening to foreclose on an outstanding $3.4-million loan.

“We had nowhere to turn,” Gary Marks said.

Looking to buy their company some time, the Mark brothers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and hoped for the best.

Then, along with several other building owners affected by the quake, they found out from Los Angeles city officials about a new loan program created from emergency aid money received from the federal government.

Under the Los Angeles Housing Department Emergency Earthquake Loan program, owners of apartment buildings who were unable to receive SBA financing could qualify for a no-interest loan of up to $35,000 per unit.

Bromark received $1.75 million on the condition that it reserve 10 units at Varsity Club for low-income families over the next 15 years.

Under that condition, a family of four whose annual household income is less than $24,000 could rent a two-bedroom apartment at Varsity Club for $623 a month. All other units range from $800 to $1,250.

“This project exemplifies the spirit of our community,” said Bernson during Thursday’s ceremony. “Seeing a success story like this makes you think of the Phoenix rising from the ashes and coming back strong.”