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Sunken Ventura apartment complex may be saved
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More from Other NewsA building in a Ventura apartment complex deemed uninhabitable after it sank two inches late last month can be saved, according to the property manager.
The foundation of one of ten buildings in a 66-unit apartment complex in the 1300 block of E. Santa Clara Street was undermined after a hot water line burst under the concrete.
"We think we can salvage it," said Steve Synder, of Oaktree Property management, which oversees the apartment complex.
The plan is to raise the building and create a new concrete foundation and re-level the building. That could take about three to four months. The seven tenants displaced from that building have all found new places to live, Synder said.
Last week the former tenants were give a few hours to remove all their belongs from the red-tagged building. David Glass, a local teacher, said he had to rush to get everything out within three hours.
"I was lucky that they found me a place in the complex," said Glass.
As he packed up his belongings, Glass said he noticed the extent of the damage, with some floor to ceiling cracks and walls that looked askew.
"We're lucky no one was hurt," he said.
Synder said that other displaced tenants -- whose apartments that were red-tagged because they're connected to the undermined building by a second floor walkway -- will likely be safe to return to within a week or so after the connections are cut away.
The company has already pulled permits for the work and for will be working on a plan to shore up and repair the damaged building, said Synder.
The total cost will likely be several hundred thousand dollars he said. An insurance appraiser has inspected the damage, but Synder said he wasn't sure what would be covered.
"I don't think lost rents are covered," he said.
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