n Greensboro,
N.C., the International Civil Rights Museum
is being constructed in the shell of a
former F.W. Woolworth’s dime store. On Feb.1, 1960, four N.C. A&T freshmen sat down at that store’s
segregated lunch counter and launched a national sit-in movement for civil rights.
Now Greensboro-based Weaver Cooke Construction
is building a $9-million museum around that lunch counter, and Anderson & Associates has a tiny piece in its
development. Recently, Weaver Cooke construction superintendent John King called in
A&A to provide some construction levels for the facility. "I wanted it done
right. In my 25 years in the field, they’re one of the best I’ve worked
with," said King, who knows A&A from his major Greensboro project, the
Hope VI Redevelopment.
Both projects are expected to revitalize Greensboro – the civil rights museum is
predicted to attract thousands of visitors to downtown, while Hope VI is replacing a drab,
obsolete public housing development in southeast Greensboro with attractive, mixed-income
housing serving all former residents, as well as newcomers.
"We’re starting out with 28 acres, but the project will encompass 96 acres as
the city buys more land," King says.
The Craftsman-style single and multi-family homes will be built with porches, close to
the sidewalks, to encourage neighborly interactions. Weaver Cooke has already finished 40
units of senior housing. One acre has been reserved for a combined childcare center,
recreation center, and educational facility. The project is funded by a $14-million Hope
VI grant, as well as money from the city, state, and private investment. A&A has done
the planning for demolition, street configuration, and infrastructure, as well as
surveying the lots and all field engineering required. The second phase will be completed
by the end of 2004.
Weaver Cooke is a 65-year-old construction company specializing in adaptive re-use,
historic renovation, healthcare, commercial, and multi-family housing with projects in the
Carolinas, Georgia, Virginia, and West
Virginia. Its Grove Arcade
renovation in Asheville recently won the Carolina
Associated General Contractor’s Pinnacle Award for Best Building and an AIA honor
award for Architecture presented to Jeff Dalton with Rowhouse and Associates of Asheville, NC.
King’s major projects with Weaver Cooke include such Greensboro landmarks as the West Market Street United Methodist Church renovation, Kathleen Price Bryan Family YMCA,
Green Valley Grill, and the Professional
Medical Center. King came to the company after 17 years in the South Florida construction
industry. He is a native of the Florida Keys.
"Weather has a definite impact up here," he says. "Rain and snow impact
schedules. In the beginning of December, we were 6 weeks ahead of schedule. Now we’re
right on our base schedule and hoping for a dry spring." .
