2nd elevator at 18-story building for seniors and disabled adults still out of commission

The senior and adult disabled residents who live in the 18-story, 242 low-income unit building at Joshua Arms in Joliet should not expect use of their second elevator anytime soon.

One of Joshua Arms’ two elevators began experiencing difficulties in early March, so residents have relied on the building’s sole remaining elevator since. The complication has caused long lines at the residence, but relief might be on the distant horizon.

Aaron Cooper, manager of communications and advancement at Lutheran Social Services of Illinois, which owns Joshua Arms, said on Wednesday that the elevator contractor has nearly all of the materials needed to repair the elevator and that repairs are estimated to begin in late September.

“They can’t give us a specific start date until they get all the parts,” Cooper said.

It will take 12 to 16 weeks to repair the elevator once all the parts are available, he said.

However, once repairs are completed on the first elevator, the controls in the second elevator will then be replaced. This also is expected to take about 12 to 16 weeks to complete, Cooper said, adding that parts for both elevators are being made simultaneously.

Why does it take so long to fix the elevator? Because these particular devices have more than 20 individual circuit boards and electronic components, according to a March 11 memo Joshua Arms sent to residents.

An order was placed for the group controller and other individual controllers, Joshua Arms said in the memo. Such items are not stock parts and must be specifically manufactured for each elevator.

“It’s not like when the lights go out and you run to the hardware store for a light bulb,” Barb Hailey said. Hailey is the director of communications and advancement at Lutheran Social Services of Illinois.

According to the memo, a technician from Anderson Elevator Company replaced a computer board in the small elevator, which then caused a problem with the group controller that controls communication between the elevators. The technician determined that the “programming/logic” function is corrupt. As a result, the second, still-functioning elevator was intermittently stopping at random floors.

However, that doesn’t mean the working elevator is unsafe. Hailey said in a June 17 email, the working elevator at Joshua Arms passed a safety test June 14. The state of Illinois requires the elevators to be tested every year, she said.

“Each year, our elevator contractor performs category one safety testing with the state inspector present,” Hailey wrote. “The elevator certificate is issued based on the successful completion of this test. We were informed immediately that the elevator had passed with no noted issues.”

In the meantime, staff from Joshua Arms manually run the elevator 24 hours a day, Joliet Fire Chief Greg Blaskey said Wednesday, and a staff person sits in the lobby 24 hours a day. In the event of an emergency, both people can contact each other.

Blaskey also said that only one elevator is required by code for Joshua Arms, which, according to its website, provides apartment-style units for adults age 62 and older, as well as for disabled adults age 18 and older. The units are about 550 square feet each.

Blaskey said that the second elevator is not required, but a convenience.