Will DDI Group Fix David Stott Building's Terrifying Elevators?

There was plenty of optimism last summer when Chinese firm DDI began gobbling up real estate in Downtown Detroit, including the David Stott and the Free Press buildings. The corporation was reportedly swimming in cash and itching to renovate.
As Spring approaches, however, there are yet to be any signs of action at the buildings, and things are getting a little bit shady at the David Stott. The tower's largest tenant, SkyBar, complains that maintenance issues with the building's elevators have been hampering business for months. Last month, one elevator car reportedly fell two or three floors while descending from SkyBar's 33rd-floor lounge, forcing terrified passengers to reach the lobby by stair.

Those complaints, published recently in Crain's Detroit, also mention that building tenant Detroit Yoga moved out due to maintenance issues. The accusations had DDI representative Ken Creighton playing damage control in the Free Press this morning, reminding us of the millions of dollars the company plans to invest downtown. That's great (and we really hope they do), but Ken's immediate solution to the elevator issue sounds a little bit, well, half-assed.

"As a precaution, Creighton said there are now employees in the elevators on weekends to limit the number of passengers in a car."

Sorry Ken, but when someone claims your elevator was in free fall, implying that the passengers were too heavy probably doesn't alleviate many concerns. In a statement to Crain's, Ken blamed the previous ownership for letting the elevators fall apart, saying that DDI Group has "professional consulting firms giving us advice and counsel on how to approach and solve the issues both in the near term and long term." That's quite an effort to avoid simply saying "we'll fix it."

· Chinese firm making plans to renovate its downtown Detroit properties [Freep]
· Concerns arise over upkeep of Stott building, former Free Press facility [Crain's]