UPDATE: Tara Apartment balconies to be demolished after engineering firm report

Thursday, May 15, 2014 | 5:46 p.m. CDT; updated 6:11 p.m. CDT, Thursday, May 15, 2014

COLUMBIA Tara Apartments' rear decks will be removed following a recommendation from a structural engineering firm, according to an email sent Thursday to Tara residents.

Trabue, Hansen and Hinshaw Inc., inspected all MU buildings after the University Village walkway collapse in February. The firm found that 18 of the 376 buildings had structural issues of "immediate concern." Half of those structural issues came from Tara's decks.

University Student Apartments staff had hoped to reinforce the decks, but that would only be a temporary solution, according to the report from Trabue, Hansen and Hinshaw Inc..

"Reinforcing them was the most expensive option, and it only deferred the problem because it didn't replace the original deck," said Frankie Minor, director of residential life.

The report estimated that reinforcing the decks would have cost about $885,060. The firm recommended removing the decks and replacing the doors with windows at an estimated cost of $770,220.

The rest of the "immediate concerns" in the engineering firm's report have been fixed or addressed with a temporary solution. The firm had cited issues with walkways at Missouri Theatre, Lafferre Hall and the MU Power Plant.The report also identifieda "badly deteriorated" staircase at Loeb Hall, which has been replaced with a wooden staircase.

In March, the firm sent a letter to Larry Hubbard, director of campus facilities, to"strongly recommend" closing the rear decks of all 16 buildings at Tara Apartments.

Engineers from the firm looked at the decks from the ground during its campuswide evaluation and noticed that the supporting beams had "lost some of their original capacity due to age and exposure to the elements," according to the letter.

One deck was able to support three adult men, according to the letter, but there was enough "deflection" or give that the firm recommended sealing off the decks to allow time for further inspection.The decks were sealed beginning March 21.

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UPDATE: Tara Apartment balconies to be demolished after engineering firm report