Company Moves

NAESA names education administrator, and employees assume new roles at Ron Farley, Peelle and Lerch Bates.

New NAESA Administrator, Scholarship Recipients, Address

NAESA International has hired Amy Crass as its Education Program administrator. Crass has more than 10 years of experience in diverse customer-service-oriented positions. As Education Program administrator with NAESA, she is responsible for the scheduling, maintenance and preparation of educational offerings and processes, continuing-education requests and membership information. Crass earned a BS from California State University Sacramento in Health and Human Services Administration in 2012. To contact her, email amy@naesai.org.

NAESA announced the latest recipients of its annual Floyd J. Rommel scholarship awards in August. Samantha Steger of Clarkston, Michigan, daughter of NAESA member Joseph Steger, and Brianne Barker of Dumont, New Jersey, daughter of NAESA member Paul Barker, won the U.S. award. Steger is to attend Oakland University to study Pre-Biomedical Sciences, and Barker is to pursue a degree in Biology at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. NAESA Scholarship Committee Chair Dean McLellan praised the quality of this year’s applicants. Each winner received US$3,000 in honor of Rommel, past executive director of NAESA.

The organization’s contact information has been updated as follows: P.O. Box 640, Rochester, Washington 98579. For correspondence, the organization’s street address is 4520 Intelco Loop Southeast, Suite 1E, Lacey, Washington 98503. Phone and fax numbers are the same: (360) 292-4968 and (360) 292-4973, respectively.

Ron Farley, Inc. Welcomes Walters as Partner

Ron Farley, Inc., an elevator inspection and consultancy firm based in Dover, Pennsylvania, has named James D. Walters, Jr., partner. Walters has more than eight years of elevator-inspection experience and holds a Mechanical Engineering degree. A QEI, he also holds an elevator inspectors’ license from the elevator division of Pennsylvania’s Department of Labor & Industry.

Peelle Engineer Mullen Moves to Sales

Steve Mullen, a 19-year veteran of Peelle’s Engineering department, has moved to Sales, where he is part of a newly created Product Management department that works with customers to create custom packages. His experience as an outside engineer who conducted onsite surveys, support and training make him an excellent choice for Project Management, according to Peelle. Mullen speaks both English and French. He holds an Architectural Technology degree from Northern College and is earning a Sales and Marketing certificate from Sheridan College. He resides in Brampton, Ontario, with his family.

Lerch Bates Names Frame Project Manager, Southern California

Lerch Bates Inc. has named Steve Frame project manager, based in the company’s Lake Forest, California, office. In his new role, Frame will manage vertical-transportation consulting services for clients throughout Southern California. He most recently served as project manager and superintendent for Otis, and as a project manager and field superintendent for Mitsubishi Electric. He has had a hand in developing the vertical-transportation systems for many landmark buildings, including the four-star Omni San Diego Hotel, the CNN Building in Los Angeles and Kaiser Permanente Irvine Medical Center in Irvine, California. 

Solutions for Elderly, Disabled

Vertical-transportation programs launched in San Francisco and Indiana.

Schindler Partners with ILRC on PORT Pilot Program

Schindler has partnered with the disability rights and support organization Independent Living Resource Center (ILRC) in San Francisco by outfitting its new headquarters with destination-dispatch PORT Technology that will be used to develop “entirely new feature sets specifically designed for and tested by the disabled community.” Launched in 2009, PORT manages elevator traffic using features such as intuitive touchscreens that serve as a means of communication between the building and its occupants. PORT has what Schindler describes as “revolutionary mobility features,” such as verbal directions and additional time to reach an elevator. Opened in July, the ILRC “will act as a pilot site to provide access control and other personalized features for people with disabilities.”

Senior Housing Elevators To Get Overhaul in Indiana

Public-housing authorities in Gary, Indiana, have agreed to invest US$2.25 million in the complete renovation of all elevators within four senior-housing buildings, the Post-Tribune reports. The units are to be Americans with Disabilities Act and state regulation compliant. The work should get done in a timely manner, since housing-authority officials also raised the threshold for approved spending from US100,000 to US$300,000, which promises to facilitate procurement.

San Francisco SPCA: Keep Dogs off Escalators

The San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) is urging people to keep their pet dogs off escalators, citing an increase in escalator-related injuries to dogs in the past year, the San Francisco Examiner reports. Injuries, an average of up to three per month, are typically to the paw and range from minor scrapes to major wounds requiring amputation. Smaller dogs are more at risk, and a single surgery can cost up to US$4,000. The SCPA recommends people with dogs carry them on escalators, or take the stairs or an elevator.

Otis Set to Replace Archaic Elevators at Penn State

Pennsylvania State University’s 43-story Cathedral of Learning, a Gothic Revival historic landmark, is poised to undergo a US$10.44-million overhaul of its elevator system, some of which dates to the 1920s,
The Pitt News reports. Otis is supplying the equipment, which includes new cars for the eight main and smaller, upper-level elevators and a destination-dispatch system that promises to enhance performance for the system, which gets its fair share of complaints. Work was set to begin in September, when elevators were scheduled to shut down in pairs as work is performed. Wall panels outside the elevators are scheduled to start going in during the spring 2015 semester.

Towers across the Country

Projects planned or underway in NYC, Chicago and San Francisco

New Chicago Office Tower Taking Shape

This summer, a foundation was being dug for the 52-story, 730-ft.-tall River Point office tower on the western end of the Chicago River’s north branch, Curbed Chicago reports. The building was designed by Pickard Chilton, and international real-estate firm Hines will be the main tenant. With a glittering, convex surface, it will stand considerably taller than its neighbors, which are in the 450-650-ft.-tall range. Employees on the upper floors will be able to see Lake Michigan. The tower’s location is in proximity to an expanding Riverwalk and other emerging areas in Chicago. The building is scheduled for completion in 2016.

Proposed Tower Would Be SF’s Second Tallest

A 910-ft.-tall tower is part of a proposed two-tower project at First and Mission streets in San Francisco (SF), the San Francisco Gate reports. Should it be built, it would stand taller than the 853-ft.-tall Transamerica building and second only to the 1,070-ft.-tall Salesforce Tower under construction. Designed by Foster + Partners, the development features a 606-ft.-tall tower, “futuristic” glass façades, ample public space and preservation of nearby historic structures. Developer TMG Partners hopes to start construction in early 2016.

“Glassy Simplicity” of Midtown NYC Tower Revealed

After construction came to a halt during the recession, a mixed-use tower at 855 Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue) started coming out of the ground over the summer in Midtown New York City (NYC), and new design details have emerged, New York YIMBY reports. Developed by Durst and designed by Cook + Fox, the 41-story, 479-ft.-tall tower is a study in “glassy simplicity.” It is set to have ground-level retail, then offices, then residences. The office area will contain an expansive terrace and a double-height “town hall” area filled with natural light. The office portion is expected to be complete by the end of 2015, with the remainder in April 2016.

Residential Towers on Former Graffiti Showcase Site

A pair of 48- and 41-story stone and glass residential towers designed by HTO are set to start taking shape by year’s end at 22-44 Jackson Avenue in Long Island City, New York, New York YIMBY reports. The buildings will stand 498 and 440 ft. tall, and replace a former graffiti showcase area known as 5Pointz. The development is set to include retail, public space and affordable housing, and will help repopulate an area that currently has few residents.