Optimum Seismic

29 December, 2022

Mayor Bass Applauds LA’s progress on Earthquake Retrofits of Apartment Buildings

By |2023-01-04T00:13:00+00:00December 29th, 2022|Earthquake Retrofits, Optimum Seismic, Seismic Resilience, Seismic Retrofit|

Mayor Karen Bass praised the earthquake safety achievements of the City of Los Angeles during her inaugural speech on December 11, 2022.

Mayor Bass credited the achievements to former Mayor Eric Garcetti by telling him “Your legacy is large.”  She noted Angelenos will be benefitting from Garcetti’s leadership in the years […]

2 January, 2022

Quake retrofits may qualify for cost recovery

By |2022-01-20T01:27:20+00:00January 2nd, 2022|AAGLA, AAGLA, Earthquake Retrofit, Earthquake Retrofits, thp|

A worry apartment owners may face when doing earthquake retrofits, major renovations or repairs is the impact that construction could have on their tenants — and whether their Tenant Habitability Plan will add significant expenses to their project.

Extra costs might include precautions to minimize impacts, such as establishing alternative parking […]

1 December, 2021

Mayor Garcetti joins Optimum Seismic to mark retrofit milestone

By |2021-12-08T15:43:47+00:00December 1st, 2021|AAGLA, Earthquake Retrofit, Earthquake Safety, LA Retrofit Laws|

Seven thousand.

That’s how many buildings have been retrofitted for earthquake safety since Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti in 2015 signed a historic law requiring seismic fortification for 12,558 older soft-story structures in the city.

I joined the mayor at an apartment building retrofitted by Optimum Seismic to celebrate this milestone, which […]

2 October, 2021

Assembly member supports better building standards, incentives

By |2021-10-11T19:22:58+00:00October 2nd, 2021|AAGLA, Buildings Resilience, Earthquake Protection|

Anyone who has lived through a major earthquake knows the event is unforgettable.

“The sound of the rumbling of the 1994 Northridge Earthquake was something I never experienced before,” Assemblyman Adrin Nazarian said recently, recalling his time in college just before transferring from Cal State Northridge to UCLA. […]

4 September, 2021

Four tips to selecting a qualified earthquake retrofit company

By |2021-09-10T19:44:05+00:00September 4th, 2021|AAGLA, Earthquake Retrofit, Earthquake Retrofit Contractor|

Rising concern with the threat of earthquakes in Southern California communities has many new companies trying to break into the seismic retrofit industry.

Be careful not to let a poor job done by an inexperienced company become a costly lesson for you.

Plumbers, handymen, kitchen and bathroom remodelers: many of these outfits […]

1 August, 2021

‘King of Beers’ is the business model for earthquake resilience

By |2021-08-06T18:46:12+00:00August 1st, 2021|AAGLA, Earthquake Resilience, Earthquake Resilient Communities, Seismic Resilience|

Let’s talk business.

When the Anheuser-Busch brewery in Van Nuys suffered significant damage in the 1971 Sylmar earthquake, the company invested $11 million in retrofitting structures on site to withstand the next major temblor – which came in 1994 with the Northridge quake.

Even though the brewery was located just a few […]

1 March, 2021

We need affordable housing protection and production

By |2021-04-26T14:12:57+00:00March 1st, 2021|AAGLA, Earthquake Safety|

How much worse would a major earthquake make California’s already serious housing crisis?

It could destroy much of the existing affordable housing in Los Angeles County — older apartment buildings, many of which are at risk of severe damage in a major earthquake.

In 2016, voters in the city overwhelmingly approved Proposition […]

2 July, 2020

Make Your Apartment Building Earthquake Resistant With A Soft-Story Retrofit to Protect Lives, Investment

By |2021-05-14T16:08:49+00:00July 2nd, 2020|AAGLA, Earthquake Resilience, Soft Story Seismic Retrofit|

Earthquakes are a constant threat in California. “The Big One” can hit anytime, and bring severe damage to vulnerable apartment buildings, along with death and injuries.

Apartment buildings with a “soft-story” are particularly at-risk of earthquake damage. Soft-story buildings usually have a large, open ground floor space like a parking area, […]

1 June, 2020

Online Maps Help Owners Assess Earthquake Risks to their Buildings

By |2020-06-18T00:13:44+00:00June 1st, 2020|AAGLA, earthquake preparedness, Earthquake Resilience, Earthquake Safety|

Imagine you’re back in 2018, but with knowledge of the COVID-19 pandemic. What investment in readiness would you have made?

Now translate that to earthquakes and the opportunities you have now to guard against adversity:

  • What steps would you take to saves lives and shield yourself against liability?
  • What would you […]
4 February, 2020

A Precarious Link Between Homelessness and Earthquake Resistant Buildings

By |2020-02-27T16:02:02+00:00February 4th, 2020|AAGLA, Earthquake Protection|

California’s homeless population grew by more than 21,300 people in 2019. That’s an increase of 16.4% — more than all other states in the nation combined, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

No matter where you stand on this very complex and controversial issue, the fact […]

Go to Top