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KONE has been selected to outfit Dubai Hills Mall in Dubai with 88 escalators, two inclined moving walks and 66 elevators. Being developed by Emaar Development PJSC and Meraas, the mall includes more than 650 retail outlets, a 6,000-m2 supermarket, an 18-screen cinema and outdoor concert areas. Pierre Liautaud, KONE executive vice president for South Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said the mall will become "a key venue for lifestyle experiences" at the 2,700-acre multipurpose Dubai Hills Estate, a "city within a city" that is the largest development of its kind in the region. Part of Mohammad Bin Rashid City, it consists of planned neighborhoods centered around an 18-hole championship golf course.
Nevada legislative auditors say that, as of June 30, 2017, 4,360 elevators in the state were operating without required inspection certificates — some of them for years, the Nevada Appeal reports. The audit report also said some units constructed since 2005 never received a final inspection to certify installation was in accordance with codes. Auditors blamed the Industrial Relations Division because it "relies entirely upon the owner to identify certificate expiration dates, schedule inspections and fix code violations," and, "no mechanism existed at the division to identify those with expired or soon to be expired certificates."
The deadline for the 2018 ELEVATOR WORLD Photo Contest has been extended to May 25, so companies and amateur photographers alike still have time to submit their entries. EW judges will first choose up to 20 finalists from each of the seven categories, including new category “Who Reads EW?” Those finalists will then be presented online through June 15, when readers will vote to decide the best of the best. Winners of each category will receive US$250 cash or the equivalent in Elevator World, Inc. educational products or advertising. Winners and runners-up from each category will be featured in the August issue of EW and highlighted. More information is available here, and the entry form is available here.
A Naperville, Illinois, woman and a university elevator foreman have been indicted on federal bribery charges in a case in which hundreds of thousands of dollars were paid to steer work to her company, the Naperville Sun reports. The owner of Smart Elevators Co. of Willowbrook, Illinois, is accused of paying more than US$200,000 to an elevator foreman at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). According to the indictment, UIC paid Smart Elevators more than US$5 million to service and repair campus elevators between 2011 and 2015. The two parties were each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit federal program bribery and three counts of federal program bribery, the source reported.
Site preparation has begun for a 35-story, Art Deco-inspired residential tower in Montreal, Skyrise Cities reports. Developer Broccolini plans 258 condominium units ranging from 470 to 4,000 sq. ft. for the tower dubbed 628 Saint-Jacques, and the building is proving popular — 80% of the units were snapped up only a week after sales opened to the public. The project will incorporate the existing Dominion Guarantee Co. building, a vintage, low-rise structure that influences the tower's overall design by architect NEUF. All residences will have access to bespoke amenities, from a members' lounge on the second floor to one of the highest outdoor pools in the city.
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