Condo parking structure partially collapses in Century City

A section of a large parking garage collapsed in Century City on Friday morning, apparently caused by the storage of too much dirt and rocks on its roof for a landscaping project, officials said.

No one was injured in the partial collapse that occurred about 7:30 a.m., but five cars were damaged, leaving behind concrete and rebar debris, officials said.

Authorities were also concerned about the structural stability of the three condo buildings that lie elsewhere on top of the same subterranean parking structure, and ordered those buildings “yellow-tagged.” As a result, about 80 residents were banned from staying in the structures overnight, said Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Eric French.

The parking garage serves as the foundation of the condo buildings, each about three stories tall.

Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety spokesman Luke Zamperini said that before the collapse, a crew was digging at the condo complex in the 10100 block of West Galaxy Way in an area between tennis courts and a swimming pool. They piled lava rock and dirt in a location that appeared to be a grassy area, but was actually on top of the parking structure.

“This is all meant to look like it’s not a parking structure,” Zamperini said. “There was just too much weight on that one small area that caused the slab below it to buckle.”

A slab perhaps 40 feet wide at the single-level parking garage “gave way and opened up,” Zamperini said.

Engineers hired by the condominium asosciation have already submitted a plan to shore up the foundation, and a city engineer is reviewing it for approval, Zamperini said.

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