US$2-MILLION ELEVATOR UPGRADE FOR MEMPHIS TOWER

Jacob Sofer, the owner of the 21-story Raymond James Tower in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, says in a press release he plans to undertake a US$2-million upgrade of the building's elevator system, The Daily Memphian reports. The release came on the heels of a lawsuit filed by Raymond James that the eight elevators used by employees are "unsafe and unreliable," demanding they be replaced or modernized. The financial-services firm, which occupies 237,000 sq. ft. on several floors of its namesake building, has a lease that extends to 2024 but an option to leave in 2021.The lawsuit prompted news outlets to deduce the firm was planning to leave downtown. Sofer says he does not "believe elevator issues are the underlying reason for the possible departure."