While in the process of removing the limestone flooring, crews discovered that the structural concrete slab had been ground down by 1.5 inches, leaving the lobby in an unsafe condition, officials said.
“Once they took the stone off, that’s when we found out that somehow, somewhere, somebody had ground the concrete too thin,” said Ari Omessi, assistant public works director.
Omessi said crews completed repairs to the floor and laid limestone in the main lobby, throughout the Fire Department and on about half of the Police Department’s portion of the building, a process that will bring the load-bearing capacity from roughly 80 pounds per square foot to 110 pounds per square foot at a cost of $167,569.
The complete change order also includes traffic coating on the ramp to the parking garage, roof fall protection, planter waterproofing, basement floor painting, repairs to the main doors and lobby and museum windows.
All of the issues stem from the original construction of the building, Omessi said.
The council in September 1995 awarded a contract on the building at 200 N. Third St. to Kajima Construction Services. The $30-million building, completed in 1998, began to show water damage after the first rains, Omessi said, and in 2000, firefighters discovered water damage in and around the shower area, according to a city report.
The Public Works Department spent $140,000 to remove mold and rebuild the showers.
Burbank officials later discovered water leaks from the parking structure, front stairs and street-facing windows, some of which were installed backward.
