Whatever Happened To...
An update on past news
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Working elevator gives condominium a lift
Question: What ever happened to Canal House, a 25-story Waikiki condominium that had elevator problems last summer, forcing residents to wait hours until an attendant could bring an elevator up?
Answer: Canal House still has just one working elevator, but now it is running on its own, thanks to service company ThyssenKrupp Elevator, said Canal House resident manager Greg Zellner.
The condominium, which has two elevators, faced major problems last summer when one elevator was out of service for modernization since March and the other one stopped responding.
For at least a week, condo employees and a service technician had to manually run the elevator 24 hours a day, producing two-hour waits for some residents.
To get the elevator to a stranded resident, an employee inside the elevator pushed the floor button, and an elevator technician would move a switch on the building's roof to direct the lift.
The service company, Hawaii Vertical Transportation, got the elevator running again, but not without an attendant, who continually operated it from the inside for two months.
Canal House eventually canceled its contract with the company, Zellner said.
Hawaii Vertical Transportation did not return calls for comment.
In September, ThyssenKrupp repaired the partially functioning lift.
"Those guys really saved us here," Zellner said. "It took these guys three days, and the elevator was fixed and up and running by itself."
For now the condo is working to secure a contract with ThyssenKrupp to complete modernization work on both elevators. Zellner said once the contract is signed, the work will take at least a year to finish.
Meanwhile, residents of the 144-unit building have been patient about having only one elevator.
"Soon as somebody moves, the elevator quickly gets clogged up," Zellner said. "We're trying to all share it, and it's difficult."
This update was written by Star-Bulletin reporter Robert Shikina.
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