City cites Ala Moana Center for rusted railings after fatal fall
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM
A man tends to a section of railing Monday as security officials over see the operation at Ala Moana Center. Two men fell four stories after the railing gave way Sunday night. One man died, the other was in critical condition.
The city issued a Notice of Violation to GGP Ala Moana LLC, the owner of Ala Moana Center, today after Department of Planning and Permitting inspectors found rust and spalling in metal railings at the mall, which was the site of a fatal fall Sunday.
A man was killed and another critically injured after they fell four stories when a railing collapsed near the Hookipa Terrace Sunday night. Following the incident, DPP inspected Hawaii’s largest mall Monday and Tuesday.
Inspectors found evidence of rust where the collapsed rail was embedded in the concrete, as well as on other railings in the general vicinity, the city said in a press release this afternoon.
The notice was issued to GGP Ala Moana, an affiliate of General Growth Properties.
GGP has 30 days to obtain a building permit and repair the deteriorated posts, the city said. Failure to do so could lead to an initial fine of $100 and $100 each day the violation is not corrected.
“The evidence indicates a safety issue with the railings and we issued a Notice of Violation, which requires the owner to apply for a building permit to repair or replace the damaged railings,” said Art Challacombe, the city’s acting director of planning and permitting. “Our top priority is the health and safety of the public.”
Francis Cofran, Ala Moana Center general manager, said in a statement that “Ala Moana will comply with all requirements as indicated in the notices in a timely manner.”
Desman Design Management, a structural engineering firm, has begun an additional assessment of all railings on the property, Cofran said. “As previously stated, all necessary repairs will be made,” he said.
“The safety and welfare of our customers and employees is a matter that we take very seriously and always address as a priority,” Cofran said. “Our hearts go out to the families and all those affected by this tragic event.”
40 responses to “City cites Ala Moana Center for rusted railings after fatal fall”
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Da rusty rail has already made it to Ala Moana!
-_________-
They waiting on the new rail to get there.
Going to cost them some buck now.
hahahaha, I was thinking the same!
Is it really that funny? Someone died.
They can afford to pay out the big bucks in the settlement that is sure to follow.
GGP, filed bankruptcy screwed over many vendors for their services. I can’t tell you enough about the deplorable back end of the mall. They squeeze every last cent out of local shops, leaving only mainland or multi-national brands being able to afford their rent, and yet manage not to do basic upkeep?
And they pay no state income taxes on the income they earn here– no tax on all the rent they collect from the tenants. We should change this law.
Neither does a locally-controlled partnership. Learn the law before you spew your venom, dude.
The spin off child of that bankruptcy, Howard Hughes Corp, maintains Ward Warehouse with the same care and precision. Check out the second floor sometime. Buildings left to rot. deynokea
30-days??? It takes longer than that in this state to get a building permit?
oooOOOooo a $100 a day fine? that will surely motivate them to fix the problem! NOT
It should be $1000 a day!
Lately I have been thinking that they spent a whole lot of money at the other end of the mall and are just ignoring the Macy’s end. Half the time the elevators, escalators and moving ramp from the parking areas are out of order. The parking garage near Macy’s is FILTHY dirty and smells like urine all the time. There are pipes leaking who knows what all the time. I am not surprised that something like this terrible accident happened at the Macy’s end of the mall. They are completely neglecting it like it doesn’t exist.
Bingo! It’s the “what have you done for me lately” style of property management.
This is not a simple fix. There will need to perform a major inspection of railings and then perform a spalling fix. As any building that had to undergo a spalling fix. It is a time consuming, expensive maintenance issue.
Too much attention toward the new wing and inexcusable neglect toward maintenance and upkeep to the older areas of the center. They probably held off on repairing or replacing the rusted railing. I’m sure they knew about it and chose to ignore it because it’s a common area expense that won’t bring in money like the stores will. Heads are going to roll as they should.
City is worried about being dragged into the lawsuits.
$100 a day fine for the whole center? Ridiculous. Cheaper to just accrue and pay the fines. Should be $100 per railing section if you want them to act.
SHAME that it wasn’t until someone died and another person close to death BEFORE GGP finally addresses this serious safety issue.
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The victims family should sue the pants off Ala Moana management. Not that it will bring their loved one back.
Hey investigative journalists of SA, get a copy of the capital expenditure budget from the shopping center budget of GGP. Then let the world know if there was any item for rail/spall work or how long it was deferred.
Investigative journalist ? Did not know Hawaii had any of them !!
SHe was just on tv tonight. Yes they do. Several of them.
$100 are you kidding me. Boy this state sure is lagging in Maintence of everything it touches !!
It’s not the threat of a $100/day fine, which is ridiculously low, but that of future personal injury lawsuits that will motivate GGP. The plaintiff’s lawyers in this case have just been handed a gift by the city’s notice of violation.
Two things are certain:
1 – lawyers will find a way to blame us and go after taxpayer money in this case.
2 – GGP is choking with laughter at the per day fine of one Ben Franklin.
Why do you have to get a City permit to make an emergency repair? That is just dumb. It’s like … TRY HURRY BUT WAIT! If the City sent out the inspectors and they’ve made the determination that the repairs need to be done then just get the owner to make the repairs in 30 days. Why so hard?
They don’t. Emergency repairs differ from permanent ones. But just like a long list of other building changes, submission of plans is required prior to beginning any work.
Did anyone else notice it looks like the 2 cops in the photo are…leaning on the rail?
Those appear to be Ala Moana Security personnel not Honolulu Police Officers.
If the city has authority to cite AMSC, then is the city acknowledging that they should have done regular inspections? The city has just implicated itself in any pending suits. Nobody should have died or been injured if AMSC did due diligence. Prayers go out to the families.
There you go again, trying to pin the blame on a government agency when a private corporation, in this case, General Growth Properties of Chicago, who owns and operates AMSC, is clearly negligent.
Sad that you’re shortsighted.
so you’re implying it’s the government’s fault for GGP’s failure to provide a safe environment for its patrons? that’s like saying its the government’s fault for a customer tripping and falling at a mcdonalds because of a cracked tile. riiiiiiight.
2 cops leaning on railing adjacent to defective railings that killed 2 people? Whew! Concrete and steel seems to be at odds with each other, plus exposure to salt air, an unsuitable mix for sure.
If Ala Moana can accommodate all that new construction then they should have made sure their whole complex was up to standards.
The City and County need to get off their flat tire okole and start inspecting these public facilities. I would also NOT trust railing on balconies too.
$100 and $100 a day ????? WTF? Are you serious. Should be $10,000 a day starting with the day of the rail failure. No wonder businesses in Hawaii defer their maintenance. Wait until someone dies, then fix it. Shameful.
Ka-CHING! RIP.