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Chapter 5: New Construction

Italicized text was added to the original Title III Technical Assistance Manual through supplements issued in 1993 and 1994.

Regulatory references: 28 CFR 36.401-36.406; Appendix A.

III-5.4000 Elevator exemption.

Elevators are the most common way to provide access in multistory buildings. Title III of the ADA, however, contains an exception to the general rule requiring elevators. Elevators are not required in facilities under three stories or with fewer than 3000 square feet per floor, unless the building is a shopping center or mall; professional office of a health care provider; public transit station; or airport passenger terminal.

ILLUSTRATION 1: A two-story office building has 40,000 square feet on each floor. Because the building is less than three stories, an elevator is not required. (To qualify for the exemption, a building must either be under three stories or have fewer than 3000 square feet per floor; it need not meet both criteria.)

BUT: A two-story shopping center with 40,000 square feet on each floor is required to have an elevator, because shopping centers are not entitled to the exemption.

ILLUSTRATION 2: A four-story building has 2900 square feet per floor. An elevator is not required because each floor has less than 3000 square feet.

ILLUSTRATION 3: A four-story office building has 3500 square feet on the first floor and 2500 square feet on each of the other floors. An elevator is required. (All of the stories must be under 3000 square feet to qualify for the exemption.)

What is a "story"? A story is "occupiable" space, which means space designed for human occupancy and equipped with one or more means of egress, light, and ventilation. Basements designed or intended for occupancy are considered "stories." Mezzanines are not counted as stories, but are just levels within stories.

If a two-story building is not required to have an elevator to the second floor, must it provide a lift? No. The elevator exemption is a "vertical access" exemption. This means that no access by any means need be provided to the second floor. However, if an entity wishes to provide access by ramp or a lift, it is, of course, free to do so.

What if a building is not required to have an elevator, but the owner decides to install an elevator anyway? Must the elevator comply with ADAAG elevator requirements? Yes. And that elevator must serve every level of the building, unless it only provides service from a garage to one level of the building.

If a building is subject to the elevator exemption, do any other ADAAG requirements apply in the building? Yes. Even in buildings that are exempt from the elevator requirement, all other ADAAG requirements (apart from the requirement for an elevator) must still be met.

ILLUSTRATION: A two-story building will be used as real estate offices. There will be bathrooms on both the ground floor and the second floor. No elevator will be installed because it is not required in a building with less than three stories. However, the second floor bathrooms must still be accessible. In other words, both the ground floor and the second floor bathrooms must be accessible.

But why are accessible bathrooms and fountains required on the second floor when there is no way that an individual using a wheelchair can get to the second floor? There are many individuals who can walk up stairs by using crutches, but then use wheelchairs to get around once they reach the upper floor. Also, since the ground floor is being designed to be accessible, there is little additional cost involved in designing the second floor to be accessible as well. In addition, ADAAG contains accessibility features for individuals with disabilities other than those who use wheelchairs, and those features should be incorporated in building design. Finally, an elevator may be installed at a future date, or an addition with an elevator may be added later on. In addition, accessible design of bathroom facilities will foster ease of use by all persons.

III-5.4100 Shopping center or mall.

A "shopping center or mall" is either --

  1. A building with five or more "sales or retail establishments," or
  2. A series of buildings on a common site, either under common ownership or common control or developed together, with five or more "sales or retail establishments."

Included within the phrase "sales or retail establishments" are those types of stores listed in the fifth category of places of public accommodations, i.e., bakery, grocery store, clothing store, hardware store, etc. (see III-1.2000). The term includes floor levels containing at least one such establishment, or any floor that was designed or intended for use by at least one such establishment. The definition of "shopping center or mall" is slightly different for purposes of alterations (see III-6.3000).

ILLUSTRATION 1: A strip of stores includes a grocery store, a clothing store, a restaurant, a dry-cleaner, a bank, and a pharmacy. This is not a shopping center or mall because only two stores are in the fifth category of "sales or retail establishments" (the grocery store and the clothing store). The restaurant is an establishment serving food or drink (the second category of place of public accommodation). The remaining establishments are "service establishments" included under the sixth category in the definition of place of public accommodation.

ILLUSTRATION 2: A building has a card store, office supply store, video store, and a bakery on the first floor; and a hobby shop, accountant's office, and lawyer's office on the second floor. In this case, both the first and second floors qualify as a "shopping center or mall," because each of those floors has at least one sales establishment. Although no floor alone has five sales establishments, the first and second floor each have at least one such establishment and, together, the total is five. (The accountant's and lawyer's offices are "service establishments" and are not included in the number of "sales or retail establishments.")

When a building is being constructed, the owner or developer does not always know exactly what types of stores will be located in the facility. In such a situation, how will the Department of Justice determine whether a facility was intended as a shopping center? There are a number of factors that can be considered in determining whether a particular floor was designed or intended for use by at least one sales or rental establishment (which would mean that floor is a shopping center). Relevant questions include --

  1. What type of businesses did the developer target in his advertising and marketing of the property? Was the developer trying to encourage sales establishments to join the property?
  2. Was the facility designed with any special features for sales or rental establishments? For example, are there counters and large windows and check-out aisles?
  3. What type of establishment actually first occupied the floor? Was it retail stores or was it offices, for example?

If a shopping mall has 25 stores on each level, how many elevators are needed? Generally, one is enough, as long as an individual could use the elevator and then be able to reach any of the stores on the second level during the hours that the mall is open.

III-5.4200 Professional office of a health care provider.

A "professional office of a health care provider" is a location where a State-regulated professional provides physical or mental health services to the public. The ADA's elevator exemption does not apply to buildings housing the offices of a health care provider.

ILLUSTRATION: A physician has offices on the first floor of a multistory building. The second floor has other types of offices. An elevator is not required.

BUT: If the second floor was designed or intended for use by a health care provider, an elevator would be required.

ILLUSTRATION 2: A newly constructed two-story building houses a business that provides home health care services. No health care services are actually provided at the company’s offices. While the building must meet all other requirements for new construction, no elevator is required.

ILLUSTRATION 3: A newly constructed building intended for physical therapy offices will have two floors. The first floor will include patient treatment areas and the second floor will be reserved exclusively for private physician offices and storage space. Regardless of whether patients will receive treatment on each floor, both floors of the building together constitute the professional office of a health care provider, and an elevator must be installed to ensure that each floor is readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities.

How will the Department of Justice determine whether a facility was designed or intended for occupancy by a health care provider? Factors that the Department of Justice will look at in making that determination include --

  1. Whether the facility has special plumbing, electrical, or other features needed by health care providers;
  2. Whether the facility was marketed as a medical office center; and
  3. Whether any of the establishments that actually first occupied the floor were, in fact, health care providers.

III-5.4300 Transportation terminals.

The ADA's elevator exemption also does not apply to bus or train terminals or depots, or to airport passenger terminals. If, however, all passenger services in a two-story facility - including boarding, debarking, loading and unloading, baggage claim, dining facilities, and other common areas open to the public - are located on the same floor level and on an accessible route from an accessible entrance, an elevator is not required.

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