I'm writing about the work Access Elevator performed at my 94-year-old father's home on Fulton…read moreBoulevard in Chicago.
My father is a disabled veteran. Under a VA-funded project, Access Elevator was selected as the vendor to provide an accessibility porch and vertical platform lift (VPL) at his front entrance.
According to the Better Business Bureau, Access Elevator has received multiple complaints in the past three years, with four complaints closed in the last 12 months. I am now submitting an additional complaint through BBB and posting this review because of what happened at my father's home: demolition of his only lawful front egress and the absence of stamped construction drawings or a City of Chicago structural/porch permit for the work.
At the initial site visit, Access sales representative Aimee Ferrell measured the front entrance and recommended an oversized 42" x 60" lift. After about ten minutes of measurements, she acknowledged the "math" didn't really work with our existing stairs and egress but told me she would "make it work."
At no point during that visit did she disclose that a smaller, compliant 36" x 48" Bruno VPL was available and could potentially meet both VA needs and City of Chicago egress requirements more safely. I later learned about that smaller option on my own. We were relying on Access, as a VA-approved vendor, to recommend a safe, code-compliant solution. I believe the failure to disclose the smaller lift option was a serious omission.
In a later conference call, a senior representative, Frank Wasilewski, told us that "Chicago-stamped construction drawings" existed for the porch at our address and he would email those stamped drawings to me. Despite multiple follow-ups, no stamped architectural/engineering construction drawings have ever been provided to us for this job.
On August 13, 2025 Access then proceeded to demolish the existing front porch and landing, which was my father's only lawful front egress. After demolition, we were left with a 5 foot trench and broken concrete at the front entrance, a 12 foot drop at the base of the steps, and no safe, code-compliant landing or guardrails.
To my knowledge - and based on conversations with the City of Chicago Department of Buildings - only an elevator installation permit was pulled, not a structural/porch permit. We were never given stamped architectural/engineering drawings for the porch reconstruction. My father's only safe front entrance was demolished under a project where there was no structural/porch permit and no stamped A/E drawings in place for the framing and reconstruction of the egress.
Access provided a small 8.5" x 11" sketch as part of the award packet. That sketch was not proportional to the porch framing that their carpenter (Daniel) actually began building on site. What was being framed did not match the dimensions or clearances implied by the sketch.
A few days after demolition, an independent Illinois-licensed architect, Don Leone Jr., AIA, inspected the site. He told us that the project required stamped architectural/engineering drawings and a City of Chicago structural/porch permit, that the framing he observed would not meet City code or pass a Department of Buildings inspection, and that the job should not proceed without proper drawings, permits, and a compliant design.
Shortly after the concerns were raised, Access withdrew from the project, after the porch had already been demolished and partially framed in a way the architect said was non-compliant. Access later informed us and the VA that the permits it had obtained were "cancelled and inactive" and that any new contractor would have to start over with new drawings and permits under their own license.
At no point did Access restore a safe temporary egress for my 94-year-old father before walking away. My father was left with a damaged, unsafe entrance that caregivers and emergency responders had to navigate daily
We relied on Access Elevator as a VA-approved accessibility vendor to (1) accurately disclose lift options and limitations, (2) obtain appropriate permits, (3) provide stamped, code-compliant drawings, and (4) ensure my father's only front egress was never left unsafe. Instead, we were left with a demolished entrance, no stamped drawings, no valid structural/porch permit, cancelled permits after demolition, and additional out-of-pocket costs for architectural review and site measurements to correct the plan.
Because of the seriousness of this situation, OSHA issued a complaint and formally notified the VA of the life-safety hazards created by the demolition. Additional oversight reports focus primarily on the VA's management, but they all document the same factual sequence described in this review.
What I want from Access: acknowledgment of what happened at my father's home and meaningful changes in how they handle projects where structural demolition, permits, and the safety of elderly or disabled customers are at stake.
