HANDICAPPED MAN TO ADVISE NYC MTA ON ACCESSIBILITY
HANDICAPPED MAN TO ADVISE NYC MTA ON ACCESSIBILITY
New York City (NYC) Transit Chief Andy Byford has appointed 34-year-old Alex Elegudin as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) first senior advisor for systemwide accessibility, the New York Post reports. Elegudin, who has used a wheelchair since he became paralyzed in 2003, will help oversee efforts such as improving the MTA’s paratransit service Access-A-Ride and new elevator installation. He previously held a similar position with the NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission.
46-STORY OFFICE TOWER COMING TO DOWNTOWN TORONTO
Cadillac Fairview Corp.'s latest development in Toronto is a 46-story downtown office tower designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, with B+H Architects as the architect of record, to serve as headquarters for the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, On-Site reports. Set to open in 2022, the CAN$800-million (US$602-million) project will contain 1.2 million sq. ft. of office space, 339 parking spots and 12,290 sq. ft. of retail at 160 Front Street West. It will be designed to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and WELL Building Standards certifications. It will also be subject to Cadillac Fairview's Green at Work sustainability program.
CHANGES TO ESCALATOR INSTALLATION CRITERIA IN INDIA
In an effort to save money, Indian Railways (IR) has amended the minimum daily footfall criteria for IR stations that will get escalators from 25,000 to 100,000, various news outlets, including Zee Business, report. Almost all stations with daily footfall of at least 100,000 already have escalators. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said escalators should only be installed at the busiest stations. However, Modi, the IR minister, a parliamentary committee or elected official may request escalator installation at a specific station, even if the minimum footfall criteria is not met.
SIGNIFICANT HEIGHT REDUCTION FOR GRAND RAPIDS TOWER
The plan for a 42-story, 418-ft.-tall building containing a hotel and apartments by The Hinman Co. in the historic downtown of Grand Rapids, Michigan, has changed to a 13-story, 162-ft.-building minus the apartment component, Grand Rapids Newsreports. The changes are based on market conditions that have seen thousands of new apartment units coming online in Grand Rapids recently. The revised plan will see a flatiron-shaped building rise at 10 Ionia Avenue SW. According to Hinman, “the size and shape of the site does not work well for office, and we lost the benefit of cost efficiencies of providing a second set of elevators and building systems when we reduced the number of apartment floors.”
