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In order to make City Hall safe in an earthquake, it might be cheaper to start over Comment By Julie Akins for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Julie Akins for the Mail Tribune Posted Feb. 10, 2016 at 4:03 PM By Julie Akins for the Mail Tribune Posted Feb. 10, 2016 at 4:03 PM » Social News If a giant earthquake hits Southern Oregon — think 9.0 or greater — the unreinforced brick and masonry buildings common in Ashland, including City Hall, are likely to fall apart, says Charles Lane, a geologist who teaches at Southern Oregon University. An estimate says it would cost $3 million to reinforce the building, meaning it could be cheaper to build a new City Hall than fix the old one. A seismic upgrade is estimated at $236 per square foot, not including the cost of relocating staff for approximately nine months. While that work was going on, the city would likely find it cost effective to also do needed work to upgrade electrical, plumbing and other work that would more than double the per-square-foot cost to $576. Another option would be to gut the inside, demolishing everything but the north and west walls, and rebuild from the ground up at an estimated cost of $405 per square foot. Starting from scratch on city-owned property elsewhere would cost about $450 per square feet, officials say. City Administrator Dave Kanner suggested that council should consider rebuilding with four floors instead of two to address current space issues. The buildings across from City Hall are also in danger from a major quake. The old structures that house Mix, the Brickroom and Black Sheep Pub are all candidates for collapse (some neighboring structures have had some measure of retrofitting to strengthen them), but Lane points out that’s not all. Houses on the hillsides could be in big trouble if an earthquake hits when the soil is saturated, Lane said. “Public buildings and infrastructure need to be looked at seriously," Lane said. "If other buildings come down, where will people go?” Some business owners have decided to get ahead of the demand. Standing Stone and Paddington Station owners have already reinforced their buildings. Pam Hammond, co-owner of Paddington Station, did a seismic retrofit of her 1903 building when it underwent a major remodel that wrapped up in 2004. The masonry building is now reinforced with metal girders. "We did it for the safety of the building," Hammond said. "We wanted to protect our employees and customers should an earthquake happen. We care about the historic importance of the building." Now it’s the city’s turn to decide how to proceed. Ashland City Council recently authorized spending $88,000 to study options and compare demolition to a retrofit of City Hall. There is no official date for completion of the study. Whichever course is selected, voters will likely be asked to approve a bond measure to fund the project. Email Ashland freelance writer Julie Akins at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/ @julieakins. By Julie Akins for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Julie Akins for the Mail Tribune Posted Feb. 10, 2016 at 4:03 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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