Haxton, however, estimates it could cost $40 million to dry the mine and possibly more to fix damaged support beams, elevators, and wiring.
In addition, journalists from a French TV program recently reported that Foxconn was housing some workers in a dormitory that was still under construction and lacked electrical wiring, elevators and running water.
In a July 2010 inspection, he said, the building received only 18 out of a possible 100 points because it had a variety of problems with its wiring, elevators, windows and sidewalks.
MR. GUERS estimated that the renovation, including new building systems, wiring, elevators and climate controls, would cost about $155 a square foot, adding that he looked for mid-sized law firms to be among his tenants.
The elevator rope is a flexible wire with a low damping, so it is prone to vibrations.
The interior was renovated five years ago and now has central heating, new electrical wiring and an elevator.
The cityscape and hilly topography are pretty much the same, but most of that world is long gone, like the Otis Elevator factory, the Alexander Smith Carpet mill, the Anaconda Wire plant in Hastings where his aunt worked.
By 1980, Mr. Gray had bought a broad array of companies outside the aerospace business, including Essex International, a manufacturer of wire and cables; the Otis Elevator Company; and the Carrier Corporation, the heating and air-conditioning company.
There was no eye set in the sink, no way to cut the lights off in the forest, no elevator clouded down, no no resounding, no bright wire.
On top of the monthly rent, Mr. Doyle of the tenants' association said, over the last several years there have been increases small and large for major capital improvements, like new electrical wiring and elevators.
The $18 million project also involved installing new mechanical systems, two elevators and high-tech wiring as well as cutting windows from the building's eastern facade, which overlooks landmark carriage houses.
