Property Managers

Historic South End, Silos and Rail Trail

Historic South End Silos During Restoration

On October 21, 1852, the first railroad train arrived in Charlotte, which may have been the most important event in the city’s history.  Innovative funding by the business community and townsfolk made the line possible and the railroad train’s arrival spawned an imaginative leadership and innovative movement that contributed to making South End what it is today.
The city is dedicated to maintaining South End’s history, and A&K Painting Company is honored to be a part of that dedication.  We are proud to have completed the restoration project on the Silos that are such a famous landmark in the revitalized South End area. And while the landmarks of the South End are important to maintain and restore, the community also believes it’s imperative to beautify and transform the community into a welcoming place that intertwines nature with design.
The community is trying to accomplish this nature and design collaboration by transforming the existing rail trail, which runs parallel to Lynx Blue Line, into a vibrant public park that allows people to explore all that South End has to offer. There was a meeting held on April 23rd to share this rail trail vision with the community and it had a terrific turnout.  This vision is easy to see, because South End is filled with galleries, restaurants, bars and cafés that will be easily accessible by the rail trail, and if something is a little too far for you to walk, you can check out a wider range of exciting places via the Blue Line.  If you’re more interested in the design aspect of the community, you’re in luck; South End is a hot spot for design.  It is home to 200 design businesses, including showrooms and offices for architects, builders, interior and landscape designers, and graphic and web designers.  So matter what you’re interested in, there’s something for everyone in South End.

The Emerging Economic Boom for NC

The Emerging Economic Boom for NC
Michael L Walden, PhD and William Neal Reynolds distinguished professor from NC State University, recently provided his opinion to North Carolina Construction news regarding the future of North Carolina’s economy.  Dr. Walden believes that even though North Carolina economy is still shy of pre-recessionary levels, the state’s economy will accelerate soon.  He believes there are four factors that will contribute to North Carolina’s economic boom, which are a manufacturing revival, a construction surge, and education “bumper crop” and a retiree influx.

According to Dr. Walden, “Almost twice as much of North Carolina’s aggregate economic output comes from manufacturing as in the nation”.  During a recession, manufactured goods purchases can be postponed, so this is why N.C suffers more.  This will also be the reason for the manufacturing revival however; since consumers and firms will be able to make their purchases, this will drive demand up for manufactured goods, from technology to furniture.

The next factor is the construction surge.  The dip in the housing market shattered the construction industry, but according to Dr. Walden, “North Carolina has added population at twice the national rate in the last five years.  Therefore, the state has more ‘catching up’ to do with new homes, apartments and retail outlets that should translate into 50,000 construction jobs by 2016”.
Then there’s the education “bumper crop”.  The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts jobs requiring a college degree to increase 30 percent faster than all other jobs between 2010 and 2020, and N.C.’s number of graduates rose a much higher percentage than the national increase.  According to Dr. Walden, “the more abundant supply of college graduates in North Carolina, combined with the state’s competitive land and labor costs, world-class universities an pleasing environment should make the state a magnet for knowledge-based firms in upcoming years”.

The fourth and final factor is the retiree influx; North Carolina has always been attractive to retirees due to the state’s beaches, mountains, dynamic cities and historic towns, but the retirement migration slowed during the recession as well, due to tight finances.  But with the improved economy, the retirees’ should be migrating faster soon.
Dr. Walden believes “these four positive developments should result in at least 400,000 net new jobs in [N.C.] over the next five years, resulting in the statewide unemployment rate dropping to near 6 percent”.

The Greenest Building and Building Reuse

Reusing Building Is Greener

Since there has been an increase in environmental awareness across the country, it’s fascinating to see how many varying viewpoints there are on how to improve the environment and reduce energy usage. One study, by Preservation Green Lab, funded in part by National Trust for Historic Preservation, focused on reductions in climate change by reusing and retrofitting existing buildings rather than demolishing and replacing them with new construction. The organization utilized a Life Cycle Analysis methodology to compare the relative environmental impacts of the two different approaches over the course of a 75-year life span. The study examined many indicators, including climate change, human health, ecosystem quality, and resource depletion, and evaluated six different building types within each climate zone across the U.S. According to the report, “this research provides the most comprehensive analysis to date of the potential environmental impact reductions associated with building reuse”.

Interestingly, the study found that “building reuse almost always yields fewer environmental impacts than new construction when comparing buildings of similar size and functionality”. Even more astonishing, the study concluded that “savings from reuse are between 4 and 46 percent over new construction when comparing buildings with the same energy performance level and it can take between 10 and 80 years for a new, energy-efficient building to overcome, through more efficient operations, the negative climate change impacts that were created during the construction process”.

Defending Champs for Tyler’s Treehouse Fund Raiser

The 2013 Tyler’s Treehouse Golf Classic is in the books.  With a successful Silent Auction Dinner Party last night at Belle Acres and today’s Golf Classic at The Golf Club at Ballantyne Resort, this year’s golf tournament events were a great success.  The defending tournament champs sponsored by A&K Painting finished third this year at 11 under par, just one off the tied 1st and 2nd place at 12 under.  Congratulations to all those involved.

Tyler’s Treehouse is dedicated to supporting St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital with the search for the cause and eventual cure of brainstem glioma.  Learn more about Tyler’s Treehouse and how you can help.

Tyler's Treehouse Defending Champs Foursome
L to R: Ryan Mayor, Jerry Bazin, Whitney Bauman and Darrell Shipman

Congratulations CREW Charlotte on Successful Casino Night

With record attendance at last night’s CREW Charlotte Charity Casino Night, we’re excited to share the event was a great success. We’re very proud of our own Whitney Bauman who co-chaired the event.  The event was held at the Big Chill and attracted a new record attendance of 311 attendees.  The Silent Auction portion raised over $10,000.00,  more than doubling last year’s total.

Proceeds from the evening benefit support scholarships in fields of commercial real estate for CREW Foundation and the Belk College of Business at UNC Charlotte.

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