Effects of steel-frame building damage reverberate through quake zone; solutions depend on testing - and a modicum of luck. (Special Report: San Fernando Valley)

When city engineers "yellow-tagged" the four-story Sherman Oaks Atrium office building after the Jan. 17 earthquake, rendering it uninhabitable, the building's Boston-based owner vowed to get it repaired and reopened promptly.

Despite extensive damage to 41 beam-column connections in the steel-framed building, TA Associates Realty succeeded in getting its building repaired within five months. The bill: Less than $2 million.

The 94,000-square-foot building at 15315 Magnolia Blvd. was "green-tagged" as safe for occupancy on June 14. A few days later, tenants began…