Activity indicates growth, and Miami gets a new landmark.

Mitsubishi Electric Opens Central Florida Office

Mitsubishi Electric U.S., Inc. Elevator & Escalator Division has opened its 10th office nationwide, in Tampa, Florida, citing central Florida’s strong construction market and Tampa’s rising skyline. The company noted Forbes and other national business publications consistently rank the Tampa Bay area, which includes Tampa, St. Petersburg, Largo, Clearwater and New Port Richey, among the top 20 fastest-growing metropolises in the U.S. where residential, commercial and infrastructure growth shows no signs of slowing down. Mitsubishi Electric has several projects underway in the area and foresees healthy, continued growth. Mike Eden, eastern region director, stated:

“Currently, Tampa has a relatively modest skyline and is not known for leading-edge high rises and office buildings, but we see that changing. We are very proud of our active installation at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino for the Seminole Tribe of Florida, which includes two new spiral escalators and a host of new elevators. We’re excited to deliver our quality to the Florida market.”

Oracle Acquires Four More Independents

Oracle Elevator of Tampa announced four acquisitions in February. SCS Elevator of Florida; Texas Independent Elevator and Premier Elevator Services, both of Texas; and Triangle Elevator of North Carolina join the company’s acquisitions of Daytona Elevator and Florida State Elevator (ELEVATOR WORLD, December 2017). All six deals, completed within the last 10 months, involve providers of elevator maintenance, repair and modernization services.

The company said the acquisition of SCS “further expands Oracle’s footprint in central and south Florida, and the operations will be added to the company’s existing branches in Orlando, Tampa and Palm Beach.” As for the acquisitions of Texas Independent and Premier, they “will increase Oracle’s presence in the Dallas-Fort Worth region.” Growth is expected for Triangle, as it “will open its second office in North Carolina as it seeks to expand its geographic footprint.”

With new branches in Oklahoma City and Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, Oracle has 25 branches across 13 states. It has acquired 23 independent elevator companies.

Hadid-Designed One Thousand Museum Tops Out in Miami

One Thousand Museum, architect Zaha Hadid’s first and final residential skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere, topped out in Miami in February at 62 stories, World Architecture News reported. Containing more than 80 residences, the structure boasts Florida’s only planned helipad for a residential building and a slew of amenities such as a sky lounge, double-height aquatic center, spa and “bank-quality” vaults. Its curved exoskeleton is composed of 5,000 pieces of lightweight glass fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC) imported from Dubai, making it the first skyscraper in the world to use GFRC as a permanent formwork. It is on track for completion later this year. The development team consisted of Louis Birdman, Gregg Covin, Kevin Venger and Regalia Group, with Plaza Construction of New York handling construction, described as very challenging and featured in Impossible Builds, a short documentary on pbs.org.