CSUN RISING FROM THE RUBBLE : MODERN CAMPUS EMERGING IN MIDST OF RECOVERY EFFORT.

Byline: Yvette Cabrera Daily News Staff Writer

The Northridge Earthquake brought Cal State Northridge national attention, but it also put the university through the wringer.

``What happened to Cal State Northridge is unprecedented,'' said campus spokesman Bruce Erickson. ``No college university has ever sustained the level of damage that we did.''

Indeed, damage was measured in the hundreds of millions of dollars at the suburban university, which was virtually at the epicenter of the 6.7-magnitude quake that struck Jan. 17, 1994.

The campus's main library and other buildings were red-tagged. For weeks following the temblor, as classes were held in trailers, enrollment fell off.

Fast forward three years.

Not only is the university experiencing a boom in enrollment, with an estimated 28,000 students expected this spring - up 3,700 from spring 1994 - but reconstruction of the battered campus has allowed Cal State Northridge to modernize its campus at a time when other colleges are strapped for cash and can't do so.

``It's no exaggeration that when we are done we will have the most thoroughly modern and up-to-date campus in the country,'' Erickson said. ``No campus in the country has the luxury of rebuilding, refurbishing and updating its facilities as we have had.''

The campus now will be able to modernize its telecommunications infrastructure, science laboratories and utilities systems as well as make its facilities accessible to the handicapped, Erickson said.

And the recovery is still in full swing. Working full time for the last six months, construction crews are making headway in restoring structures such as the Science I building, scheduled to open next week.

``Not a day goes by that we're not involved in earthquake activity work,'' Erickson said. ``The earthquake went off the national news in a week, but three years later, we're still wrestling with the consequences.''

With 70 percent of its recovery efforts already complete, the campus is on the brink of entering its most crucial phase - and one that might take longer to complete than originally expected, campus officials said.

Rather than renovate buildings that were extensively damaged, the university decided to demolish them and build new structures from scratch, which will take much longer to complete, Erickson said.

``This last third of the recovery is going to be like climbing the last third of Mount Everest,'' Erickson said. ``It's the steepest and the hardest because we've reserved the hardest buildings for last.''

Art Elbert, vice president for administration and finance, estimates construction of all new buildings will be completed by spring 2000, instead of 1998 as originally anticipated.

``We have a new schedule because we're building buildings rather than fixing,'' said Elbert, who is overseeing the recovery efforts. ``Everything else will be in before that.''

Elbert said this final stage will be the most critical to the long-range future of the campus for various reasons. One is that it will involve the construction of a new fine arts building, technology building and administration building, as well as renovating others.

``Most importantly, to most people and to me, we're going to use this opportunity to give the campus a unique identity,'' Elbert said.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is footing 90 percent of Cal State Northridge's $300 million quake recovery tab, is scheduled to announce the last major piece of funding, about $60 million, in early February, Elbert said.

To date, more than $200 million has been spent or approved for spending. Of the total spent, 10 percent will be paid by the state Office of Emergency Services, Erickson said.

The university is negotiating with FEMA to use part of the recovery funds for alternative projects not directly related to the earthquake damage, Erickson said.

For instance, because the administration bWuilding at Cal State Northridge was so badly damaged, the campus plans to build an entirely new structure at a different location. But campus officials also would like to build a ``center for student success'' in the existing structure.

``These are improvements in or alternative type projects that can be of greater use to us for the next century,'' said Erickson, adding that the center would gather all student services such as financial aid, admissions, and career planning and placement in one place, rather than leave them scattered throughout the campus as they are.

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Photo, Chart

Photo: Art Elbert, CSUN's vice president of administration and finance, is overseeing the reconstruction of campus buildings.

Tom Mendoza/Daily News

Chart: CSUN ENROLLMENT REBOUNDS