Transformation on the Beach

Cavinder Elevator completes one-of-a-kind redesign in PCB, Florida.

Cavinder Elevator Co., Inc., serving the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle, recently celebrated completion of an elevator conversion at the Ocean Ritz condominium building in Panama City Beach (PCB), Florida. With Lerch Bates serving as consultant, the job involved converting an Otis Gen2^® machine-room-less (MRL) system to a traditional, nonproprietary, overhead 1:1 roped traction system. After Ocean Ritz Condominium Owners Association (HOA) President David McCluskey reached out to Cavinder, he then contacted Lerch Bates to review the supplied project drawings and specifications, review submittals and perform progress reviews. The Cavinder team got to work in January 2022, delivering the converted system to Ocean Ritz in July 2023. 

Built in 2006, Ocean Ritz boasts 64 units within 23 stories on the beachfront. Lerch Bates determined the scope of work for Cavinder was to provide new gearless rope machines located in the machine room above the controller, as well as a complete modernization of the elevator system.

Cavinder tells ELEVATOR WORLD the most challenging aspect was engineering the hitch plates on the car and counterweight, as well as designing the bedplate and performing steel structure work. The most rewarding part of the job was doing something that had never been done before and achieving the owners’ goals of the redesign, say principal Cavinder engineers Daniel and Danny Bowen, who assumed their roles in September 2023. Those goals included having a safe, reliable elevator system resistant to the harsh, humid environment.

With specifications from Lerch Bates, the Cavinder team transformed the MRL with a machine mounted at the top of the hoistway into a traditional overhead application. The overhead 1:1 roped traction system above the hoistway slab provides the most protection possible from the elements, including saltwater. Cavinder also increased elevator speed from 400 ft/min to 550 ft/min. Southeast Elevator, Inc., doing business as Elevated Fabrication Systems, fabricated the cab shells and ceilings. Cabs, fixtures and the landing system are all waterproof. The system includes Motion Control Engineering controls and Imperial gearless machines. Additional suppliers included CED Elevator & Electrical, Dupar Controls, Hollister-Whitney, OSB Services and Elevated Fabrication. 

Lerch Bates provided a final review of the modernization, deeming it a success. The HOA’s McCluskey says:

“The salt, water and humidity in a beach environment are just out of this world, and super hard on an elevator system. The old elevators called for only proprietary parts that we couldn’t always find. What we liked about Cavinder was how they kept us up and running — as well as informed — throughout the entire process. Their access to parts and knowledge were invaluable. This work went on during a really busy peak period, and the way they handled it was quite impressive.”