New company launched and regional sales manager named.

New NYC Door/Cab Company

Building Supply & Installation Services, LLC (BSIS) is a new Long Island, New York-based company primarily serving Greater New York City (NYC) with a goal to partner with customers’ operation teams to ensure high-quality service and timely delivery of products and installations. It offers passenger and freight door and cab installations, as well as installer-friendly passenger entrance and cab materials. It is a Local 1 International Union of Elevator Constructors and Local 580 Iron Workers Union signatory.

After 14 years as part of a growing installation business at The Peelle Co., BSIS President Chris Peelle left to start his own business with additional product and service options. Other personnel include Rachel Smith, vice president of Operations, who brings more than 17 years of high-profile project-management experience. Smith is formerly senior project manager of the thyssenkrupp New Construction project management team, a role in which she managed high-profile and specialty jobs. She worked for the company in various positions beginning in 1998. In 2001, she moved to managing new-construction installations with the Time Warner Center project.

Carlo Gavazzi Appoints Area Sales Manager

Carlo Gavazzi, Inc., has appointed David Benes Area Sales manager for Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee. Benes has extensive experience in the industrial automation industry, having worked with OEMs, distributors, systems integrators, panel shops and end users as both a manufacturer’s representative and factory-direct liaison. The company noted that Benes brings both knowledge of the geographical area and appropriate skills to the Carlo Gavazzi team.

Pop/Joe Golf Outing Coming Up

The “Pop” Frohlinger/Joe Marchese (Pop/Joe) 42nd Annual Memorial Invitational Outing is taking place on June 13, rain or shine, at the North Hempstead Country Club in Port Washington, New York. Two sessions  (morning and afternoon) and an awards dinner are offered. Charges, benefitting the Elevator Escalator Safety Foundation, are US$425 per person for golf and dinner, and US$200 per person for dinner only. Lunch, cocktails and golf carts are included in the golfer’s fee. In addition to several course contests, raffles and giveaways will take place. This year’s honoree is Doug Witham of GAL Manufacturing Corp. More information on the perennially sold-out event is available at www.popjoe.com.

Tall buildings multiply in Manhattan and beyond, and safety legislation is proposed.

New Jersey’s Future Tallest Going Up

A 900-ft.-tall, 79-story condominium tower that will have retail and public space is rising in Jersey City, New Jersey, with a ceremonial groundbreaking taking place in late January, New York YIMBY reported. Perkins Eastman Associates designed 99 Hudson Street (ELEVATOR WORLD, February 2015 and July 2014), which, upon completion in 2018, will surpass the 780-ft.-tall Goldman Sachs Tower at 30 Hudson Street to become New Jersey’s tallest tower and one of the tallest residential buildings in the U.S. In close proximity to a transit station, the building will boast limestone cladding and large windows separated by limestone piers with granite bases for the storefronts. The developer is China Overseas America, Inc., and the property is expected to open in 2019.

Residential Tower Overlooking NYC Would Be 79 Stories

Developer Chris Jiashu Xu hopes to break ground in 2017 on the 79-story, 778,000-sq.-ft. Court Square City View Tower at 23-15 44th Drive in Long Island City overlooking New York City (NYC), The Real Deal reported. Goldstein, Hill & West is the architect of record for the project, which would include nearly 775 apartments and ground-level retail. Renderings show a sleek, glassy, square design with a stepped top and a large, multilevel podium.

Tishman Speyer’s The Spiral Includes Plenty of Green

With US$1 billion in financing in hand, Tishman Speyer, the portfolio of which includes Rockefeller Center and the Chrysler Building, hopes to build a 65-story, 1,005-ft.-tall office tower, The Spiral, at 66 Hudson Boulevard in Manhattan, Real Estate Weekly reported. The design by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) features landscaped terraces winding around the façade and open to each floor. Tenants occupying multiple floors may have their spaces customized to provide interconnectivity among offices. Plans include a six-story base with retail and a lobby with a soaring ceiling. No construction timeframe was given for the Hudson Yards district project.

Waterfront Views on Tap in Financial District

A 35-story building with an elementary school on the lower floors and 85 residential units above is taking shape at 32-42 Trinity Place in the Financial District, New York YIMBY reported. To be known as 77 Greenwich Street, the structure is designed by FXFOWLE Architects and will boast impressive waterfront views. It is set to include retail within its 285,000 sq. ft. Completion is anticipated in 2019.

Elevator Safety Act Tried Again

NYC Council Member James Vacca has introduced new elevator safety legislation LABORPRESS states is “aimed at improving elevator safety throughout the city. . . because he is tired of waiting around for the state to do something about the alarming surge in building accidents.” According to the Fire Department of New York, building accidents are up 160% from 2009 to 2014. The bill would formalize licensing and certification requirements in the city, requiring that one individual per contractor be licensed.

Though a statewide elevator safety bill has passed the New York State Assembly four times since 2012, it has failed each time it reached the state senate. A new Elevator Safety Act is in the works, and though Governor Andrew Cuomo has already said he will sign the bill if it gets to his desk, Vacca does not want to wait. However, his legislation is restricted to repairing and modernizing existing elevators and does not encompass new construction. Its hearing is expected this month.

Mark Gregorio, head of TEI Group, which installs and repairs elevators in the city, commented:

“When 35 states require technicians to be individually licensed, NYC must certainly meet or exceed those requirements. Individual licensing is certainly in the public interest. The standards should include both classroom and practical on-the-job training via an appropriate apprentice program.”

Developers think big in Beantown.

Residential Building, Office Tower Part of Plan

Redevelopment authorities have greenlighted the first two of what developers hope will be six buildings on the site of a Brutalist-era parking garage on Congress Street, ArchDaily reported. They are a 486-unit luxury apartment building designed by CBT Architects and a 43-story office tower designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli. Also set to include a hotel, retail and public amenities, the US$1.5-billion project is being done by HYM Investment Group and National Real Estate Advisors. No construction timeframe was given.

Mixed-Use Project Underway

Construction crews broke ground earlier this year on The Hub on Causeway, which will consist of a 38-story, 495-ft.-tall residential building, 21-story, 487-ft.-tall office tower and 260-room hotel atop a multilevel retail/entertainment podium, the Boston Business Journal reported. Part of a wave of development in the North Station area, the Hub on Causeway was designed by Gensler and inspired by the city’s shipping and industrial heritage. The glass-and-steel podium is set to be finished in 2018, followed by the office and residential towers. Boston Properties is the developer of the 1.5-million-sq.-ft. project, taking shape on the site of the old Boston Garden.

60-Story Condominium Tower Planned in Miami

The Related Group is planning to build a 60-story, 290-unit condominium tower, Auberge Residences & Spa, on Biscayne Boulevard in Miami and has priced the units to sell in light of a weakening luxury residential market, the South Florida Business Journal reported. The project was designed by Architectonica and will be the first of a three-tower, 1,430-unit development with 13,280 sq. ft. of retail if all goes well.

Downtown Portland Eyed for Major Mixed-Use Development

The Goodman family, through the Downtown Development Group, has its eye on building a mixed-use project consisting of 11 buildings, five up to 460 ft. tall, in downtown Portland, Oregon, between the Burnside and Morrison bridges, The Oregonian reported. The US$1.5-billion project would be called Ankeny Blocks, and include office, residential and retail space. The family said it intends to preserve the grit and character of the original neighborhood, and that the construction timeline will depend on the market and nailing down major tenants.

Towers across the Country

Residential, office and resort space is planned and underway.

Residential Ellipse Breaks Ground in Jersey City

The LeFrak Organization has begun construction on the 43-story, 444-ft.-tall Ellipse building in the Newport section of Jersey City, New Jersey, New York YIMBY reported. It is set to contain more than 370 residential rental units and a retail component. The glassy, oval design was conceived by Architectonica, and the project is scheduled for completion in 2017.

Twisty Residential Tower in San Francisco

Pending approval, a 400-ft.-tall, 40-story residential tower with a twisty design will start taking shape at 160 Folsom Street in San Francisco, next to the future Transbay Terminal public-transportation and retail hub, Hoodline reported. Surpassing the current height restriction by 100 ft., the building is set to include approximately 390 residential units, some of which will be “affordable”; retail; parking; and open space. If approved, a development team that includes Tishman Speyer hopes to complete the structure by 2018.

Construction Forges Ahead on Milwaukee Office Tower

Construction is forging ahead on Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co.’s US$450-million, 32-story office tower in downtown Milwaukee (ELEVATOR WORLD, December 2013), BizTimes reported. At the end of 2015, Northwestern Mutual projected the building’s atrium would be wrapped in glass in early 2016, and that the structure would top out during the first half of 2016. The 1.1-million-sq.-ft. building is scheduled to open in 2017.

Large Casino Resort to Take Shape in Massachusetts

A US$1-billion contract to build the Wynn Resort casino in Everett, Massachusetts, was awarded to Boston-based Suffolk Construction Co., which has experience with such work, The Boston Globe reported. The company expects to break ground in spring 2016 on the project, which includes a 24-story curved, glass hotel tower, gaming areas, retail and meeting space over 3 million sq. ft. The resort is expected to open in late 2018.

NFPA Launches Forum

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has launched NFPA Xchange™ (community.nfpa.org/welcome), a free online community. NFPA considers it the latest way to stay up to date on fire-protection-related codes and standards information. It allows users to search or browse information on topics ranging from fire-protection systems, electrical, building and life safety, emergency response and more. Content is submitted by both community users and NFPA staff and subject-matter experts.

NFPA members can find additional benefits within an exclusive “Members Only” section of the forum. Members are able to access a “Technical Questions Service,” where they can connect directly with technical staff and submit technical standards questions. Also, they can search and view other technical standards questions that have already been submitted and answered.