Engineers Demand Building Be Made Safe
State earthquake safety engineers in a downtown office building deemed seismically unsafe have demanded that the state agree by Monday to either fix the building or move them out.
A letter released Tuesday from the engineers’ attorney to the state attorney general’s office asked for a timetable.
Both the owner of the building and a spokesman for the state Department of General Services indicated this week that the building would be retrofitted, but they gave no timetable for completing the work.
“The state’s intent is to bring this building into compliance, because our first priority is not only the safety of the tenants but also the public,” said Rob Deignan, a department spokesman. He said department inspectors were now assessing the problems.
About 300 state employees work in the Washington Building at 311 S. Spring St., which the state leases for $2 million a year.
A structural engineering report issued last month said the Washington does not meet code requirements and could be severely damaged in a moderate quake.
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