Since the Soft Story Retrofit Program began in 2015, property owners have obsessed over what they consider to be unnecessary costs. What few fail to look at are the benefits of what a retrofit will bring to your property. One of these benefits is that it will increase the value of your building and protect your residents and employees lives. Los Angeles soft-story retrofit companies can feel good about the part they are playing in making the city safer for everyone.
How are the economic benefits of a retrofit determined?
To help communities around the country decide if a seismic retrofit program was needed, FEMA conducted extensive research and compile years of data to create a to develop a standard benefit/cost model. Working alongside VSP Associates, Inc. economists, engineers, and other experts compiled data over a two year period that focused on nine different cities around the US.
It should come as no surprise, that they all recognized that existing buildings that were not designed to be earthquake resistant pose the greatest threat to loss of life. But some communities are looking to introduce a seismic retrofit program for economic reasons, such as a reduction of property damage sustained in a major earthquake.
The biggest question many city officials ask is, “Is it worth it?” Deciding to retrofit a city’s existing buildings is a difficult decision for many communities and doing so often leads to conflicts. To help make these decisions officials need to look at economic analysis, engineering capabilities, and the current societal trends. But all experts agree that strengthening existing buildings has huge benefits for the future of any community, especially those in earthquake-prone parts of the country.
FEMA’s report focuses on three areas that benefit from seismic retrofitting, all of which increases the value of your building. Let’s take a closer look at each of them:
Improved life safety for occupants
Whether you own a commercial office building or an apartment complex, the safety of the people who work or live in your building should be your number one priority. A building that is retrofitted to be more earthquake resistant will help to prevent serious injury or death in the event of the next major earthquake. The benefit to most property owners should be very clear here.
In the earthquake of 1994, 60 people lost their lives. Many of the families of these victims sued the property owners and won. Retrofitting your building now can save you thousands of dollars in lawsuits later. An earthquake-resistant building, especially in Los Angeles, will be more attractive to potential renters, thus increasing the value of your property.
Less loss of building function
Let’s face facts, if your commercial building collapses in an earthquake, you will face a significant financial loss. You can’t perform your daily business if your building isn’t functioning. If you are an apartment owner, you can’t collect rent on units that aren’t livable. Having your building retrofitted will increase your building’s functionality.
One of the reasons Los Angeles created the retrofit program was to increase the city’s resiliency. This is determined by how quickly businesses can bounce back after an earthquake strikes. The less downtime your business faces, the less income you stand to lose. Los Angeles soft story retrofit companies increase the value of your building by improving its functionality during, and after, an earthquake.
Lower repair costs
The last major earthquake to hit Los Angeles cost property owners millions of dollars in repairs. You can lower this cost significantly by complying with the mandatory retrofit now. The whole purpose of the seismic retrofit is to strengthen the weak areas of your building so it will be capable of withstanding the extreme forces of an earthquake.
Most buildings are able to make it through a minor quake without any problem But the US Geological Survey is predicting a major earthquake within the next 50 years. Now that may sound like you have plenty of time, but no one knows exactly when it will happen. They only know that it will. Don’t get caught unprepared, putting out the money for a retrofit now, can save you so much later.
Other ways a retrofit benefits your building
You can actually lower the cost of your insurance premiums. This should be good news since, over the last few years, the cost of earthquake insurance has risen quite high. But a building that has been retrofitted to be more earthquake resistant tends to be cheaper to insure. Plus, if you are in the market to sell your property, future owners will be more likely to purchase it knowing that the retrofit has already been completed.
What We Offer
If your building is one that has been mandated to complete a soft-story retrofit by a Los Angeles soft story retrofit company, we can get you started. When you set up an initial consultation, one of our professional contractors will do an inspection of your property to assess the current conditions. Then they will draw up a detailed step-by-step work plan of what modifications need to be done.
RetroFitting 360, Inc. is a leading provider of soft-story earthquake retrofits in the Los Angeles area. Our experienced staff will focus on the most cost-effective and efficient construction solution to meet your needs. Our civil and structural professionals will draw up the necessary plans to modify the building that are needed for permits to be issued. If you would like to know more about how we can increase the value of your building, give us a call today.
