After the Anheuser-Busch brewery in Van Nuys suffered significant damage in the 1971 Sylmar earthquake, the company invested $11 million to retrofit structures to withstand the next major temblor – which struck in 1994 with the Northridge quake.
Even though the brewery was located just a few miles from the epicenter […]
Real estate trends are fueled by popular opinion. Wood paneling and shag carpet have long since made way for today’s bright walls and wood-style flooring. Functionality has changed as well, with tenants demanding larger open spaces, natural light, and now — seismic safety.
A whopping 80% of Los Angeles residents support […]
We were all shaken by reports of February’s earthquake disaster in Turkey and Syria. Nearly 50,000 were confirmed dead, and at least 164,000 buildings collapsed or were so badly damaged they need to be demolished. From the comfort of our homes, it’s easy to think we are immune to such […]
Los Angeles County suffered more than $100 million in damage to public property from the barrage of fierce atmospheric river storms that battered the state in early 2023. Costs associated with that damage include debris removal, road and bridge repair and flood damage to buildings – including a sink hole […]
New luxury apartment homes are sprouting up throughout Los Angeles – in the heart of Koreatown, Little Tokyo, in West Hollywood, Glendale, Culver City, even downtown. Amid all the new construction, the need for more affordable housing continues to grow.
From 2010 to 2019, the city lost thousands of homes considered […]
Talking with prospective tenants can tell you how outdated your apartment building has become in today’s market. Tenants want open floorplans, upgraded fixtures and appliances, sleek design, and lifestyle amenities such as courtyards, pools, and workout facilities.
But the news isn’t all bad: Owners of older apartment buildings can capitalize on […]
Many Californians live in a form of earthquake denial. We laugh them off, ignore their ever-present threat to our lives and livelihoods. After all, some reason, we’ve lived through earthquakes before. Why should the next one be different?
The stark reality is that protecting ourselves from earthquakes should be on all […]
Happy Building Safety Month! This low-profile, international observance for safe and sound structures, rarely gets noticed outside the industry. It’s the unsung understudy to fun causes nearer and dearer to people’s hearts – taking a back seat to ice cream, talking like pirates, even clowns.
But buildings play an ever-present and […]
I recently ran across the following question in a social media post:
Q: Is there a way to know how safe your apartment building is in case of an earthquake?
One person answered that if the apartment is still standing, it has survived everything until now — wrongly implying the building […]
