Construction Industry

Americans with Disabilities Act and Restriping Parking Lots

ADAParkingRestriping

Americans with Disabilities don’t need any more hurdles to overcome than they already face, especially in their everyday lives and this includes attempting to visit a place of business.  The Americans with Disabilities Act takes this into consideration and has set requirements for businesses that are restriping their parking lots.  According to the U.S. Department of Justice, from the ADA Business Brief, “when a business restripes a parking lot, it must provide accessible parking spaces as required by the ADA Standards for Accessible Design.  Accessible parking spaces for cars have at least a 60-inch-wide access aisle located adjacent to the designated parking space.  The access aisle is just wide enough to permit a person using a wheelchair to enter or exit the car.  These parking spaces are identified with a sign and located on level ground”.  The ADA also has requirements for van-accessible parking, which include “a wider access aisle (96”) to accommodate a wheelchair lift, vertical clearance to accommodate van height, and an additional sign that identifies the parking spaces as ‘van accessible’”.  The ADA also has requirements on how many accessible parking spaces to provide when parking lots are restriped, which is based on a percentage of the total number of parking spaces provided per lot.  Also, according to the ADA, “the accessible parking space must be located on the shortest accessible route of travel to an accessible facility entrance”. 

A&K Painting Company understands how important accessibility is for people with disabilities and provides  solutions to meet ADA requirements when striping parking lots.  Our expertise and attention to detail can provide property owners and managers with the peace of mind that their parking lots have been designed with safety as the top priority and that all ADA requirements have been met.  Providing great value to CRE professionals and property managers, keep the bottom line in mind. It all starts with the use of proper preparation techniques which provide longevity and a better value overall.

Learn more about A&K Painting Company’s Striping for Safety and Maintenance Solutions.  Contact us if you have any questions and when we can be of service to you.

Proud to Be a Hood Hargett Breakfast Club Member

Hood Hargett Breakfast Club

A&K Painting Company values building and maintaining relationships and we also love being part of an organization that benefits individuals in our community.  We understand that networking with other leading businesses in Charlotte is vital to any company’s success and allows for further growth, which is why we are proud to be a Hood Hargett Breakfast Club Member.

The Hood Hargett Breakfast Club is a business development organization that hosts multiple events throughout the year for its members and guests with the intention of providing business owners exceptional venues to entertain clients and prospects.  These events provide members and guests the opportunity to learn from first-rate speakers in an environment for top notch business networking.  Being a member helps us develop new business relationships and, importantly, to strengthen existing relationships.  A&K Painting Company  –  A relationship you can trust…

Central Piedmont Community College Works to Expand and Meet Demands

Central Piedmont Community College

The surging enrollment at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte has created expansion needs. CPCC has had a 35 percent growth in full-time students from 2005 to 2012.  According to an article about CPCC’s growth needs on the Charlotte Observer’s website, North Carolina community colleges are required to provide 100 square feet of instructional space for every full-time student and CPCC averages just 58 square feet per student over its six campuses.

The Observer article quoted CPCC President Tony Zeiss saying “We’ve grown so rapidly and have fallen so far behind in space that, in many instances, we’ve had to turn people away,” he said. “This community faces the same skills gap that the rest of America faces. We have the ability to train people, but we need the labs and space to do it.

To meet requirements and to plan for the future, the school has identified 20 projects that will add space with a total cost of $430 million. CPCC is likely to request Mecklenburg County commissioners to grant a bond referendum that will fund a three year plan for CPCC’s top 10 projects.  Lland acquisitions at five CPCC campuses and five construction projects will provide the classroom and lab space to train students for mostly health sciences, energy and information technology jobs.  “The college needs new and renovated classrooms, labs and support space to meet Mecklenburg’s educational and training needs and prepare workers for jobs,” the article quoted Zeiss.

We’re proud to be a part of the growth in Mecklenburg County and the Carolinas.
Similarly, due to growth, A&K Painting Company had a demand for expanded training and operations space.  To better serve our customers, last year we made the decision to invest in our training and operations capacity and created the OTS, our Operations Training Showroom.  The state-of-the-art training facility combined with a new showroom and operations facility establishes A&K as the leading commercial painting contractor.

Amanda Hibberts and A&K Painting in Industry News Profile

A&K Painting Director Repaint Division Amanda Hibberts

Congratulations Amanda on being featured in yesterday’s combined individual and company profile put together by the PDCA (Painting & Decorating Contractors of America) and presented in  their member emailed news.

PDCA PAINTER’S PORTRAIT:
Amanda Hibberts, Director, Repaint Division at A&K Painting Co.

Q: How long has A&K Painting been a member of PDCA?

A: Since 1997.

Q: What inspired you to choose this profession?

A: Andy Robbins, our CEO, inspired me. When he called me out of the blue and offered me an interview with A&K 9 years ago, I was working in the commercial millwork industry. My response to him was “I don’t know anything about paint except the difference between flat and eggshell. ” His reply was “That’s all you need to know!” How can you not love someone like that! Andy is fearless, he is strong, and he inspires everyone he encounters- including me! But boy- was he wrong!

Q: What’s your favorite paint project you’ve completed?

A: In 2007, we painted the Wells Fargo Rainbow Corridor. This corridor connects two buildings in uptown Charlotte. This was a fun project because we used 38 different paint colors on each side of the corridor to essentially create a 3 dimensional fan deck.

Q: What PDCA benefit do you use most?

A: The PDCA Standards hands down have been the greatest asset and value provided by PDCA. We use them daily.

Q: Outside of work, what do you like to do?

A: Yoga, cooking, spending time with my family!

Q: Interesting/fun fact about yourself?

A: I was the first female Chair of the PDCA Commercial Forum. Oh and I like to box from time to time!

Q: What color is your kitchen?

A: My kitchen is Sherwin Williams Network Gray. My husband Michael applied Scuffmaster Solid Metal Black, with a Scuffmaster Pearl Coat on all of the cabinets and trim. Clean, sophisticated and the perfect accompaniment to my tiled back splash and stainless accents.

Raleigh Metro Area- Fastest-Growing City in America

Raleigh

According to a Forbes article, “Raleigh, North Carolina has grown 2.2% since 2011 and 47.8% since 2000” and according to census data, the Raleigh metro area is the fastest-growing city in the U.S. since 2000.  These statistics aren’t surprising to those that have lived there since the late 1990s, since they experienced the growth first-hand.  As a commercial painting contractor, A&K Painting serves the entire Raleigh metro area.

Despite this amazing growth, Raleigh still has a relatively low population density in its urban core. The city has also retained its housing affordability, with housing costs that are half or less than in “cool”, slow-growth cities, such as Boston, San Francisco or New York.  Raleigh also has the advantage of being located in the Sunbelt, so people are choosing to take advantage of the mild winters and extended summers.  Also, the cities’ population will most likely continue to grow in the future, because its child population alone has expanded 45% since 2000, compared to 2% nationally, while cities such as New York and Los Angeles had a decline in their children population.

This could be an opportune time for CRE investors to take a hard look at Raleigh, since they are experiencing exponential growth which doesn’t appear to be slowing anytime soon; especially since the outlook for commercial real estate growth is on the upswing.