IlluMyFi

D.A. Everett Construction Group, a Black-owned construction company, is the lead contractor for renovations to the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C. QCity Metro announced news about the $215 million project on Jan 10. The outlet states D.A. Everett will work with Turner Construction on the renovations set to begin later this year. Donovan Everett, 42, is the president and owner of D.A. Everett Construction Group. On Jan. 12, Everette and the executive team behind the Charlotte Hornets revealed the renovation plans to the residents of the Queen City. According to WBTV, the renovation project has been coined as Re!magine Spectrum Center. The renovations will include several upgrades, including adding 2,500 lower-level seats, improvements to concourses and breezeways, and updating club and food-beverage areas. The renovations reportedly will kick off in May 2024, with hopes to be completed by May 2025. Hornets Sports & Entertainment Executive VP Donna Julian was "thrilled" to share the initial renovation plans. "Re!magine Spectrum Center touches nearly every aspect of the arena and allows us to remain the premier destination for sports and entertainment in the Carolinas, drawing more high-profile events and thus more patrons to Uptown Charlotte," Julian said. To complete the opportunity that he considered "once in a lifetime," Everette enlisted the help of Turner Construction. Turner has extensive knowledge of working on large jobs and amplifying fan experiences. In 2017, the firm completed the renovations for the 400,000-square-foot State Farm Arena. "It's been an exciting opportunity to do this because it's such a high-profile project," Everett said. Everett had been around the construction business since he was a child through his father, who is a general contractor. In 2003, he graduated from N.C. State with a degree in business management and followed it up with a healthcare construction certificate. He launched D.A. Everett Construction Group in 2013 and managed high-profile renovation projects for clients, including Novant Health, Bojangles Coliseum and precincts for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. The company's website states they are licensed general contractors in North Carolina, South Carolina, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Everette has been a resident of Charlotte since last year after relocating the construction group's headquarters and his family to the city. In that short time, the Charlotte Business Journal named D.A. Everett Construction Group one of its large Black-owned companies. With over 20 years of experience in the industry, Everette is looking to make an impact on the city's construction landscape. "I look forward to getting into the community to make an impact and to help people, especially those that look like me," Everette explained to QCity Metro. Everette states the renovations would bring Spectrum's fan experience to "a new level." He confidently told QCity Metro, "Whether it's concerts, basketball, or whatever event, the Spectrum Center will be the place to be."

Sentiment

Bearish/Bullish

13.01.24 11:18

by news.yahoo.com

Admirers of nautical icon Anna hope to prevent her final bow

Jan. 13 -- CAPE VINCENT -- The Anna, a nautical icon beloved by its legion of fans, is on rocky ground after the owner of the 30-foot Block Island trawler expressed some interest in selling the boat, or at least parts of her. In early December, Ronald J. Trottier, owner of Anchor Marina, 583 E. Broadway St., where Anna has been "on the hard" for about two decades, tasked Marcie Travers-Barth with selling Anna. Tavers-Barth owns The Coal Docks Restaurant & Bar, across the street from the marina. The restaurant building itself is owned by Trottier, who is not involved in the establishment's business or management. "The owner has asked that I put it up for sale and handle all offers," Travers-Barth posted on Facebook on Dec. 10, noting that the transaction would not result in any money for her. "Buyer(s) must remove it at their own cost. Let's get her sold and keep her part of the Cape Vincent community." That post set off alarms on the "The Anna" Facebook group page, which says the boat "has become an 'unofficial' beloved icon of the Cape Vincent community." Group members sought ways to save her. Posted ideas ranged from creating a GoFundMe account, setting up a nonprofit, gauging interest from the Mystic Seaport in Stonington, Connecticut, to placement of Anna on the National Register of Historic Places. On Jan. 3, in a "Letters From the People" submission to the Watertown Daily Times, Cape Vincent resident Victoria Sperry wrote that Anna is a vital source of tourism with a potential of doing much more. "There are a couple of places in the village where Anna could be displayed (with the cooperation of local authorities) if enough people come together and work to make this happen," Sperry wrote. "It's a romantic thing on my part, Sperry said on Tuesday. "Anna is beautiful. And so many old boats fade into obscurity. But she really is an attraction. People come here to paint and draw her. It's an incentive for people to come to the cape." Cape Vincent Mayor Jerry D. Golden said the village would have no means to undertake a restoration project involving Anna and finds the arguments to save her don't hold much water. "It's definitely gotten some attention. It's cool looking. I have a picture of it, as do so many other people. There are people out there who think something different, but to me, there's just no value in trying to restore that or have it on display." He said the ship has been a topic at village meetings, and at one, a question was asked. "Somebody mentioned, 'If some private investor bought it, restored it and made it pristine and gave it to the village -- would they take it?' I'm like, that's a lot of hypotheticals there, but I said you could always present something to the village if that were the case, and we could make a decision at that time." He added, "If somebody said, 'Hey, you could buy the Anna for $20,000 if the village put up the money,' I would say we wouldn't be interested." A restored Anna would face another issue in the village. "Where would you put i...