After launching a fund-raising campaign urgently formulated in the fall, the SC Aquarium raised a large donation to help support its school programs.
The Charleston attraction announced its “Our world without“campaign in September in the wake of a temporary shutdown and declining admission revenue. It was an effort to save the Aquarius” heart and soul “, which the leaders said was in danger due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He set a specific financial goal: to raise $ 1.6 million by the spring of 2021 to help his Sea turtle treatment center and educational programming. The attraction recently obtained its largest individual contribution in the form of a $ 500,000 pledge of Domain Energy.
The six-digit injection of money will allow the Aquarium to continue offering free school programs for school children in the state of Palmetto.
Although the health crisis limited these activities, a pivot for a virtual format allowed the Aquarium to reach about 3,000 students from 46 schools in South Carolina last year. This is compared to about 6,300 pre-COVID, according to the figures provided.
In addition to its six-figure donation, Dominion, based in Richmond, Virginia, has another new connection to the seaside attraction. Clarence Wright, manager of the gas operations division for the energy giant’s South Carolina franchise, was recently added to the board of directors for Aquarium, whose job includes raising money.
Plans are underway to demolish part of the Budget Inn on Fain Street in North Charleston and replace it with a four-story Studio 6 hotel for extended stays. Warren L. Wise / Team
Inn-flation
The days for a part of a two-story motel in North Charleston may soon be numbered.
Nick Patel and his father Denish Patel, which has 100 rooms Budget Inn at 6155 Fain St., near South Aviation Avenue, plans to demolish a 40-story two-story wing on one side of the property and build a four-story building Studio 6 Hotel with 64 rooms in its place.
All licenses and plans are in place for work to begin, but construction was halted by the coronavirus pandemic. Now, the younger Patel has said he hopes to find a contractor who can meet his price.
At first, he did not intend to spend more than $ 4 million on the 32,723 square foot project, but the cost of materials has gone up so much that he is considering waiting until they step back or line up a contractor before prices rise.
Some of the offers, he said, came close to $ 7 million, which he considers very high.
When the project is completed, the 2.5-acre site will have two marks. A 60-room motel will remain on one side, with doors opening outwards, while the Studio 6 brand will occupy the opposite side as a hotel with doors facing inwards along a central corridor.
The Studio 6 brand is the long-term version of the budget-oriented model Motel 6 new york property flag Blackstone Group. When completed, it will be the first to open in the Charleston area, said Patel.
On board
The owner of the house on Kiawah Island, Michael J. Angelakis, has been appointed director of the energy giant Exxon Mobil. Provided
The buyer and owner of the most expensive house ever sold on Kiawah Island is traveling abroad on the oil and gas train.
Michael Angelakis, a former finance executive at the broadband and broadband giant Comcast Corp., joined the US industrial titan ExxonMobil as a director last week, at a critical time for the Fortune 500 dividend darling.
Joining him as the new director of the Houston-based energy company is the proponent investor activist Jeff Ubben. Their appointments were announced on March 1, about 48 hours before Exxon’s annual investor day.
“We welcome these new directors as part of our ongoing renewal of the board, which is based on the diverse global business experience of our current members,” CEO Darren Wood said in a statement. “Your contributions will be assessed as ExxonMobil moves forward with plans to increase shareholder value, responsibly providing the necessary energy, while playing a leading role in the energy transition.”
It has been difficult for the company, which not long ago came face to face with Apple for the title of largest publicly traded company. Now, investors are withdrawing from oil stocks in a world that is increasingly looking for cleaner, more renewable sources of energy. To top it off, the waning price of Exxon’s shares has led to requests from some shareholders to shake up the board.
Angelakis is qualified for the position in question. He is president and CEO of Atairos, which translates into Greek as “partnerships”. The investment firm said on its website that it seeks long-term deals with “high-potential companies and their management” – Groupon is in the portfolio – and is financed through 2025 primarily with a $ 4 billion commitment from Comcast, where he served as vice president and chief financial officer until 2015.
Angelaikis has owned a property in Kiawah since at least 2006. About six years ago, a company he founded bought 9,777 square feet of waterfront land on 3 acres on Bally Bunion Drive for $ 20.25 million from billionaire from chicago Jude Reyes. It remains the highest selling price for a home in a closed seaside resort, although that record may be at risk. The owners of the newly listed Vanderhorst Mansion off Governors Drive are asking for $ 21 million.
Carnival Cruise Line has developed a cruise-themed Monopoly game to help its customers overcome the coronavirus pandemic. Carnival Cruise Line / Provided
Game for a cruise?
Missing that margarita in the moonlight on the Lido deck? Or those chocolate cakes melting at will after the dinner buffet?
Carnival Cruise Line understands that its frequent fliers – including those traveling from Charleston – are looking forward to vacationing at sea, so he developed a cruise theme Monopoly game to get them across the COVID-19 pandemic gap.
“We are always looking for new ways to celebrate the Carnival brand and, when we had the opportunity to be part of this personalized Monopoly game, we took the chance”, Andres Villalever, director of retail for Carnival, said in a statement.
The rules are the same as the traditional Monopoly, but instead of Boardwalk, Park place and other destinations, the game board features 28 Carnival ship features and attractions, including: SCREW, the first maritime roller coaster; Bonsai Sushi restaurants; and the Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse.
It’s not all fun and games. There is a quarrel for passengers who misbehave and a “port fee” space that requires the payment of $ 200 with funny money.
In addition, instead of houses, hotels and railways, the Carnival version features cabins and suites. The game pieces, of course, include a cruise ship. The box and tray feature Carnival’s newest pleasure ship, the Carnival.
It is a far cry from the turquoise waters and sandy beaches that passengers expect to see, but the cruise company hopes that the game – which sells for $ 39.95 on the Carnival website – will be sufficient until the voyages are resumed. But on March 6, he was exhausted.
Carnival has repeatedly postponed its return to the seas until the pandemic is under control, and recently postponed the schedule for June, at the very least. The next trip from Carnival sunshine cruise ship Union Pier Terminal downtown Charleston is scheduled for June 3.
This sculpture of Augustus Saint Gaudens featuring Colonel Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Massachusetts Regiment recently underwent a $ 3 million restoration. National Parks Service / Provided
Return to ‘Glory’
A nod to Civil war the story of Charleston portrayed in an Oscar-winning film is returning to the home of American revolution.
A sculpture by Col. Robert Gould Shaw and the Massachusetts 54th Regiment is being reinstalled across the street from State House in Boston after a $ 3 million renovation that lasted months.
The monument pays homage to the Boston black troop regiment that led an attack on the Confederate Fort Wagner on Morris Island near Charleston during the Civil War, suffering almost 50 percent of casualties, according to The Boston Herald. The story was presented in 1989 academic award-winner “Glory“starring Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman and Matthew Broderick which was filmed mainly in Georgia.
The sculpture of August Saint Gaudens depicts Shaw, a white officer, leading the first all-black northern regiment to see the battle during the Civil War. Saint-Gaudens spent 14 years creating the monument, which opened in 1897.
“Most war memorials feature a lone leader. This is a leader accompanied by his men,” I‘Merchie Frazier, director of education for the Museum of African American Historysaid the Herald.