CSUN to Replace Part of Fine Arts Building

A portion of the earthquake-damaged fine arts building on the campus of Cal State Northridge will be replaced, university officials said.

CSUN officials are asking for more money to raze the entire fine arts building, but the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is paying for most of the university’s repairs, has so far agreed to pay for only one wing, said CSUN spokesman John Chandler.

“Based on the damage, we think tearing down the whole fine arts center is the appropriate way to go,” he said. “But we’re still discussing that with FEMA.”

Chandler said that engineering studies determined that it would be more cost-effective for the university to replace the building entirely than to refurbish it.

Previously, school officials had announced their intention to tear down the seven-story University Tower Apartments and the 37-year-old South Library Building, the oldest major structure on campus. The South Library houses the school’s computer center and is not actually a library.

Demolition on the South Library and the fine arts building will begin this semester and be completed next year. Both the computer center and any portions of the fine arts center that are demolished will be replaced, but not necessarily in the same locations, Chandler said.

“The good news is that the new buildings will be modern and state-of-the-art additions to the campus,” Chandler said. “What’s difficult is that rebuilding them entirely is more time-consuming than just doing repairs.”

In May, the university received $61 million for quake relief from FEMA, bringing the total to $246 million of the estimated $300 million required to repair the battered, 353-acre campus.