First, my thanks to those who have replied so far, a real eye-opener onto a situation that I suspected was there but is largely unreported. So full of absurdities, like that 4 minute walk and the medical and longterm care buildings with no AED in them.
My mother was in an 'indepenedent living' facility and they were no allowed to even help her up if she fell down. Call 9-1-1? Ridiculous.
As for the theft threat cited above, I think that is a barrier that has to be acknowledged when deploying AEDs. If there's one on every second floor, etc. then the likelihood of theft and vandalism, misuse, unreliability - it's just too high. The meth guys will have a field day selling them for $20 down at the bar.
OTOH, one in the main elevator lobby, where there is much better security, often including video - I think we can hold that fort, and only one device is at stake. Add a good alarm, an enclosure that can dial out to cellphones, that should keep things under control. Also, the residents walking by it every day, discussing it while awaiting the elevator, that would generate a lot of awareness, education, ownership as stakeholders, in an amenity for their personal safety like no others. Lobbies also standard the their location and could build a 1:1 association in the public's mind as where these things are in a crisis - which is needed.
Personally I think that retrieving one in four minutes by elevator is do-able, in my tests it works 90% of the time. With 2 stage elevators you'd need one at each landing, of course.
My own company has applied to place them in the Fire Code beginning 2013, for high rises, and if that passes I think the AED promise will largely be met for big buildings. It's going to be interesting seeing who opposes them.