Sherman Oaks : Owner Thanks ‘Angel’ as Apartments Reopen

A 26-unit apartment building in a former “ghost town” area of Sherman Oaks emerges from the ruins today, and, with it, the dreams of comfortable retirement years for its elderly owner.

Last year, the Northridge earthquake totaled the building, whose rent revenues were Bea Marble’s main source of income. The septuagenarian faced foreclosure on the structure, was forced to get a job as a real estate agent after 10 years in retirement and had to move out of her West Los Angeles house.

Tonight a party will be held to celebrate the reopening of the Colbath Manor Apartments on Colbath Avenue just north of Milbank Street. It’s a day that Marble, a widow with three grown sons, once feared would never come. Key reasons for the rebuilding project’s success were the interest and connections of Marble’s accountant, Joe Mandelbaum.

After learning about Marble’s troubles, which included rejection by the Small Business Administration for a low-interest loan, Mandelbaum consulted with some banker clients, who suggested that the building could be repaired rather than rebuilt from scratch.

From other clients, the Manhattan Beach-based accountant got referrals for an architect and a structural engineer, who later confirmed that a renovation of the 27,000-square-foot building was possible. Yet another client, who happened to work in the SBA loan approvals department, gave Marble advice on rewriting her SBA loan application.

Ultimately, the SBA approved a $1.5-million loan, which Marble used to pay off the mortgage on her building and to fund the repairs. Marble had originally applied for a $2.5-million loan, thinking that building a new structure was her only option, and was turned down because, it was deemed, she would not be able to repay such a large loan.

On Wednesday, Marble said she was grateful for all of Mandelbaum’s time and effort, all of which was free except for the fee he has been receiving for construction supervision.

“I’ve heard of people with angels,” Marble said. “If that is true, he is mine. Without him, I could not have put this together.”