Monday, November 22, 2010

New Handicapped Access Ramp at Registry of Deeds

Over the weekend a new handicapped access ramp was installed on the front entrance of the Middlesex Superior Courthouse on Gorham Street in Lowell. Construction of the ramp is part of the on-going elevator project at the courthouse.









2 comments:

Jeff Welch said...

Why are they even bothering with this if the Trial Court is moving, and the state has no idea what it will do with the building? This project is going to look collossally foolish when the state inevitably declares the courthouse surplus and the new owner tears everything out while redeveloping the building.

Handicapped accessibilty is the law of the land, but why throw good money after bad in a soon-to-be-abandoned building?

Dick said...

The trial court used that same argument before the Architectural Access Board about a decade ago and that board let it slide. I think that board's order in this case had a lot to do with long years of delay in the past along some skepticism that the timetable for the new courthouse will be met. Besides, if the new court is ever built, the state won't be demolishing the old one. Rather it will be sold to a private developer for reuse. I expect the state will obtain a higher price at that point for an accessible building than for one that was in violation.