“It was just completed on July 15th,” Livni, the owner of Magnolia Fine Homes apartment complex, said. “People were moving to the 8 person complex on August 15.”
Before the Almeda fire hit on September 8th, he said around 5o people lived in the complex, and he was getting ready for others to move in.
“People had their keys and were getting ready to move into this apartment on October 1.”
Unfortunately, those people never got to move into their new home.
Less than a month of being open, it burned down in the Almeda Fire.
“This is something I put a lot of time and love in. I really put a lot of things into the units and it burned down.”
This isn’t the first time Livni has dealt with a fire. In the 1990s, he lost his home in the Oakland Hills Firestorm.
He says because of his past experience, he didn’t want to wait around to start construction.
So, the day after the Almeda Fire, September 9, Livni asked for approval to rebuild. Then, 10 days later, he started construction.
“I’m not the kind of person to sit around and wait. I like to take action.”
Livni says there have been some challenges that come with rebuilding an area that was already built on.
“It’s more delicate to cut and fit buildings where they used to be before without destroying what you already have.”
His employees who worked on the project before it burned down feel the same.
“We’re being tested to rebuild it,” Ray Trepanier, Job Super, said. “Do it once and do it again I guess.”
He has to find pipes that they’ve already laid down and work around the parking lot which is usually the last thing they do.
But despite the obstacles, Trepanier and Livni both say they’re happy to bring a glimmer of hope to the small town.
“I want to make sure that Talent is coming back as soon as possible,” Livni said.
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