Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

It was the biggest bash on Friday night of the 2018 White House Correspondents Dinner weekend, a glam affair at the British ambassadors residence. One of the UKs hottest techno stars DJd. DC VIPs and out-of-town celebs danced beneath the mansions crystal chandeliers and sipped Macallan single-malt in the English gardens. Nancy Pelosi and Sarah Huckabee Sanders posed for pictures. And in the swirl of it all, outfitted in one of his flashy double-breasted suits, hobnobbing with entrepreneur Mark Ein and ousted White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci, was the evenings top sponsorTodd Hitt.

In return for bankrolling a large chunk of the tab, the name of Hitts private-equity firm, Kiddar Capital, was everywhere: projected in shimmery white light on the buildings facade, emblazoned on the step-and-repeat, stamped on the cocktail napkins. Hitts PR firm had arranged it: a prestigious piece of marketing for a relatively new brandand the unfamiliar guy behind it.

Though a son of the Hitt Contracting familyone of Washingtons wealthiest construction dynastiesTodd Hitt had only recently forged a profile as a brash and crazy-successful self-made entrepreneur. He was a commentator on Fox Business. He traveled by private jet. By the night of the soiree, he had convinced a long list of locals that he was an alum of the Wharton business school; that he had a personal net worth in the billions; that when he wasnt busy with his own exploits, he quietly helped run the family company, too.

Thanks to Hitts platinum-plated last namethe one that built the new Glenstone museum, part of Nationals Park, the W Hotel downtown, and NASAs headquartersthe persona had been a remarkably easy sell. In reality, though, it was a sordid mirage.

Even as Hitt worked the room during Washingtons most glittery weekend, he had yet to pony up for the partyand he never would. Not two months later, he would become the target of a federal criminal investigation. By fall, the FBI would unmask Kiddar Capital as a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme and rebrand Hitt as a shameless con man.

The society types whod found themselves taken with this charismatic new player were aghast. Hitt had stolen from nearly two dozen victims, including some in the upper echelons of Washingtons real-estate community, and stiffed many others. But he was hardly your typical grifter who had to hustle to make a buck. Not even close. Hitts grandparents had launched the family business from their dining-room table in Arlington in 1937. His father, Russell, helped expand it into one of the highest-earning general contractors in the country. Todd Hitt was born already having it all. He apparently just wanted more.

Todd Hitt the billionaire businessman was incarnated some five years ago when, seemingly overnight, he popped up as a real-estate developerhaving spent much of the prior decade as a soccer coach.

He had been a bit of a wanderer professionally. Unlike his older brother, Brett, whod climbed the ranks at Hitt Contracting, Todd Hitt had never worked for the family company. Hed built spec houses around the same North Arlington neighborhoods where hed grown up, but according to a court document, his homebuilding business had collapsed. Hed been coaching since at least the mid-90s and had founded an elite high-school soccer club in Reston. But now solidly into midlife, Hitt suddenly seemed eager to leave his fingerprints on the Washington landscape, the way his family had.

By the summer of 2014, Hitt, then 49 years old, was putting together his first major real-estate deal, targeting a prime but underdeveloped corner in downtown Falls Church, where an Applebees restaurant stood. The market may have been small, but it was ripe for an ambitious new visionand more to the point, an ambitious new visionary. Hitt attached himself to an impressive partner, Insight Property Group, the developer behind projects such as the Apollo/Whole Foods complex on DCs H Street, Northeast. They imagined building more than 70,000 square feet of trophy office space as well as a state-of-the-art home for the local theater Creative Cauldron. The sleepy site, Hitt said, would turn into a commercial hub by day and a cultural destination by night. It was all very exciting, says Creative Cauldrons founder, Laura Connors Hull.

A lot of peoples eyes rolled through the back of their heads. They were just stunned.

Pivoting from travel-soccer coach to commercial developer might sound like a leap. But Hitt was never known to lack nerve. He always had a self-confidence that, when you dont have it, it irritates you, says Quentin Paquette, who met Hitt in second grade and played soccer with him at Arlingtons Yorktown High School. Their coach, Jean-Pierre Bell, remembers: You had to remind Todd that he was not the bossI was the boss.

Hitt didnt waste time letting folks know hed arrived. He began alerting theFalls Church News-Press to his moves around town; flattering stories would then appear, describing Hitts ideas for more local development. He comes with the name. Everybody was impressed by that, says the newspapers owner and editor, Nicholas Benton. He presented himself as the top dog in Falls Church. Not only thatHitt was also touting purported projects in Denver, Miami, Puerto Rico, and other locales. Im a dealmaker, he said.

Soon, there was a more audacious evolution: He was getting into the clubby private-equity business. In 2016, Hitt launched Kiddar Capital, opened an office in Falls Church, and began courting investors. His pitches, typically aimed at acquaintances and friends, were often done over dinner or drinks. To go out to happy hour with Todd, recalls one former friend, you were probably either an investor or a target.

Hitt would promise he had his own skin in the game, according to court documents, to demonstrate his confidence. Hed also toss around the family name. According to a former Kiddar employee, the bosss messaging boiled down to: Im Todd Hitt. Im a billionaire. My familys got this huge company. Trust me.

Many savvy people did, including Washington real-estate executives such as Insight Propertys CEO, Richard Hausler; William Quinby, vice chairman at the commercial brokerage Savills; and Brendan Owen, a chairman at the real-estate advisory Newmark Knight Frank. The reason I invested is the Hitt name, says a local lobbyist. The signs are all over the city. I thought, How could this be bad?

For one of Kiddars first major plays, Hitt targeted Washingtons expanding tech scene, committing $2 million to a new company called Aquicore. Not long after that, he was raising $6 million to buy nearly five acres at the future site of the Silver Line Metro stop in Herndona potentially transformative project for the region. Take a look at this Herndon deal. Its going to be a home run. He said some version of that to me several times, recalls the former friend.

Within a couple of years, Hitt was operating like a heavy. When the Capitals played in the Eastern Conference finals in 2016, he flew his staff to Pittsburgh on a private jet. There were courtside Wizards seats and invitations to his Nats suite. Some Kiddar employees got new wardrobes worth thousands of dollars. He upgraded from a Chevy Tahoe to a Mercedes-Benz SUV and was often chauffeured by his private driver in a Benz sedan. Around the office, he was rumored to be having a Maybach custom-built.

Its not as if luxury cars have much currency in Washington, though. So to be taken seriously by people who might do business with him, Hitt and his staff became fixtures on the charity circuit. I lived at those events, says the former employee. It was all about building up the image.

Hitt would also jet out of town for paparazzi-attended parties in the Hamptons and Los Angeles, accompanied by his mistress Michelle Dolansky, a childhood friend he knew from the soccer world. (They were photographed together all over the country, their relationship an open secret.) Though small in stature, maybe five and a half feet tall, Hitt knew how to consume a room. He dressed for the spotlight, sporting showy wide-lapel suits, sometimes with his aviator sunglasses on indoors.

One year, he donned a white dinner jacket and threw a glitzy bash of his own, called Kiddar After Hours. The venue was the Georgetown Four Seasons, and the honorees were local arts organizations including the Phillips Collection and Wolf Trap. Models passed Champagne, the bars were stocked with Pappy Van Winkle, and Dominican hand-rolled cigars were free for the taking. Hitt invited tech execs, real-estate types, and philanthropistsor as the ex-employee puts it: Everyone around town who he wanted to think he had a lot of money.

Hitt had a way of making any public gesture flamboyant. Once, for an Alexandria nonprofit that runs preschools for low-income kids, he donated $25,000via tweet. When Steve Messeh, executive director of the youth-focused nonprofit Hope Multiplied, heard from a friend that Hitt was someone who could become a significant donor, Messeh invited him to the groups annual gala and placed him at a VIP table. After one of Hitts high-roller seatmates egged him on, Hitt pledged $50,000 on the spotand informed Messeh that he could broadcast the donation to the crowd. A lot of people that give to the organization give anonymously, says Messeh. He was the opposite.

The showmanship reaped dividends. In 2018,Washington Life magazine put Hitt on the cover of its philanthropy issue alongside Carrie Marriott and Cindy Jones, feting them as some of Washingtons most generous givers. When we showed up to the photo shoot, [Carrie and I] said to each other, Wow, we dont even know Todd, recalls Jones, who was then board president of the National Museum of Women in the Arts. He emerged on the scene quite quickly, donating a lot of money. It was kind of unusual.

After Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, Craft Media, the PR firm that repped Kiddar Capital, suggested that Hitt could use his private jet to help. Crafts CEO contacted Puerto Ricos former governor Luis Fortuo, now a partner in the DC office of Steptoe & Johnson, whod been in the press publicizing the desperate need for aid. Hitt and Fortuo flew to Puerto Rico and visited the Ronald McDonald House and a childrens hospital. At some point, they ran into Jos Andrs, the celebrity chef who became a national hero for feeding thousands after the storm. Within days, Kiddar Capital supplied photos of Andrs, Fortuo, and Hitt to accompany feel-good stories in theWashington Business Journaland theFalls Church News-Press.The latter referred to both Andrs and Fortuo as Hitts longtime friends. Through spokespeople, both told me the trip was the only time theyd ever met him.

As Hitts profile rose, his former business partner Dave Mark watched, awestruck. The two had been neighbors in Arlington and, along with their families, had become close. Sometime around 2011, Mark says Hitt approached him with a proposal that they go in on real estate together. Hitt subsequently formed an investment shop called Kiddar Metz, a blend of their childrens initials.

Over the next few years, Mark says he gave Hitt increasing amounts of money for properties Hitt said he was buying: Todd would say, You need it back in a year? Youll get it back in a year. But the returns never materialized. By 2014, Mark and his wife had grown frustrated, and Mark told Hitt he wanted out. Though disappointed that his investments werent paying off, Mark says he wasnt angry.

Then a couple of years later, Hitt rebranded Kiddar Metz as Kiddar Capital, moved into a real office with a real staff, and seemingly began to enjoy wild success. I thought it was a weakness in me, Mark says. I felt like he was doing amazingly well and I missed the boat on it.

Other people whod known previous incarnations of Hitt had even less charmed experiences. In the early 2000s, Lindsay Bowers played on one of the teams in Hitts Reston Football Club. She lodged a complaint with the Virginia Youth Soccer Association alleging that Hitt was verbally abusive. According to disciplinary documents from the case, then-17-year-old Bowers said shed been joking around with a teammate during practice when Coach Hitt shouted at her: Get off my training field, you fing c!

As part of the same proceeding, a male player, Garrett Patrick, alleged that Hitt mistakenly thought Patrick had rolled his eyes at him during a warmup, then got inches away from Patricks face and screamed: If you roll your eyes at me again, Ill f you up, f your family over, and fing knock the teeth to the back of your throat. Youll be in the hospital for so long you wont even know it. (Patrick could not be reached. During the case, his mother backed up his account.)

When Hitt testified before the league adjudicators in 2005, he admitted to yelling at Bowers but claimed hed said, Get your shit and get the f off my training field! He added that hed then mumbled to himself: Fing twat, what am I doing this for?

Hitt was punished, but only briefly. The league suspended him from coaching for six months. After completing a conflict-resolution program, he was allowed backand continued coaching for several more years.

Bowers, who still lives in Washington and is now 33, has a theory for why her old coach never lost his status among the hypercompetitive parents in the local travel-soccer scene. When Hitt was their kids age, hed been one of the hottest college prospects in the nation, then suited up all four years for UVA. He would talk about how many connections he had, all the people he knew, how helpful he could be, says Bowers. He never let us forget that everybody knew who he was.

By the time Hitt had reinvented himself as a financier and civic patron, many of his lies would have been easy enough to disprovesuch as the one about going to Wharton, which took me less than an hour of e-mailing with the school to debunk. Yet through a combination of cunning, luck, and the credibility that came with his last name, Hitt was able to keep up the illusion.

In 2016, for instance, when Kiddar Capital was supposed to deliver the second half of its $2-million investment in Aquicore, the tech startup, Hitt refused to payunbeknownst to his investors. According to a source within Aquicore, Hitt called just before the money was duepurportedly after disembarking from his private plane in England, where he was seeing a soccer gameand pulled an about-face virtually unheard of in the venture-capital world. Even though he had agreed to the terms, he said hed simply changed his mind about the investment. There had already been an impression around the table that he was not a mature or sophisticated investor, says the source. That validated the suspicion. Yet given the companys then-fledgling status, Aquicore decided it wasnt worth the trouble to chase down the debt. Hitts investors remained in the dark.

Messeh, the leader of the youth charity that Hitt had offered $50,000 on the spot, was stiffed and then strung along in a ten-month game of cat-and-mouse over the money. In the middle of it, a Kiddar employee asked Messeh to participate in a photo shoot for aWashington Life ad the firm was buying to coincide with Hitts philanthropy cover. For the ad, Hitt wanted to assemble a group photo showing off all the nonprofits hed supported. Messeh was blown away by the request. Still, after consulting his board, they all decided he should do it, in hopes that the favor would shake loose the $50,000.

On the day of the shoot, at the Washington Golf and Country Club in North Arlington, Hitt spotted Messeh talking to the other charity executives, Messeh says, and literally made a beeline for me and told me the check is coming any day now. In hindsight, Messeh speculates Hitt was running interference, trying to keep Messeh from telling the others hed yet to receive his donation. It workedMesseh kept quiet, still hoping the check would materialize.

Kiddar employees saw all manner of oddities and didnt speak up, either. The firms website boasted of offices in Houston, London, and Palm Springsnone of which any of the staff had ever seen or communicated with. Their bosss personal life was also mystifying. Theyd seen his wife, Susan, drop by the office, as well as his mistress, Michelle. (During Michelle Dolanskys protracted divorce battle with her ex-husband, she claimed emotional abuse, while he claimed that her years-long affair with Hitt had ruined their family. Dolansky declined to comment for this story. The judge overseeing the case attributed the breakdown of the marriage to Hitt and Dolanskys relationship.)

Most troubling to the staff was that Hitt struggled to make payroll on time. Some months, people would get their checks a few days late. Other times, not at all, so that Hitt wound up having to give them double the next pay period. In times like that, says a former employee, he would just disappear.

Still, they put up with itthey were a small team of mostly twenty- and thirtysomethings, young and relatively inexperienced. About half, including two of Hitts daughters, were focused on marketing. The head of investor relations was an exsuit salesman from Zegna, where Hitt had been one of his best customers.

You cant imagine the sense of betrayal I feel. Its like a burning hole in my gut.

When pay was late, there often wasnt a bookkeeper to talk toKiddar didnt employ one full-time. Even if Hitt was around, staffers werent eager to confront him. A lot of people had a fear of him, says the former employee. For the most part, everyone figured he was good for the money anyway. He was constantly reminding them he was a billionaire. And, they thought, he had a far more established business behind him: Hitt often wouldnt appear at Kiddars offices until lunchtime because, he told them, he spent his mornings working at Hitt Contracting.

Thursday morning, September 20, 2018, some of Kiddars employees were already in the office when a startling goodbye e-mail from the boss popped up in their in-boxes: They were being fired. By that afternoon, Kiddar Capital was dark and locked up.

It had been a strange few months. On the one hand, Hitt had been his usual peacocking self, schmoozing at the White House Correspondents party, sponsoring a black-tie dinner for former General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. Hitt had also just launched a next-level growth strategy for the firm, announcing that he was preparing to size up and go after institutional money.

Yet employees had witnessed an unsettling sequence of events behind the scenes. Hitt had hired a pair of employees to help bring the firm into SEC compliance so it could become the larger operation he was describing. But after only a month, they vanished. Soon, a team of lawyers was in the office, asking for documents and backing up computers, for reasons that were unclear. Around the same time, investors in the Silver Line property were getting anxious, asking for financial updates.

All the employees were like, Oh, my Godwhats going on? says a former staffer. We knew Mr. Hitt was in trouble, but we didnt know exactly the reason Mr. Hitt was in trouble.

Barely two weeks after the mass firing, the explanation was all over the news.

Hitt had surrendered to authorities and was being indicted on eight counts of securities fraud. Throughout the charging documents, the fingerprints of two informants appeared: Employee A and Employee B.

Hitts new hires, it was suddenly clear, had packed up and gone straight to the FBI. Hitt had recruited them to build up the firm, and instead they had taken it down.

According to court documents, what first spooked them was Hitts reluctance to show them the books. Given the nature of their jobs, theyd expected to have access to the firms full financial picture, yet he wouldnt budge. Puzzling together what they could, they realized Hitts boasts that Kiddar had $1.4 billion in assets under management were ludicrously inflated. It looked to them as if the real number was closer to $27 million.

With a little more digging, authorities uncovered a pretty amateur scheme. For instance, with Aquicorethough Hitt had told the tech company he simply didnt want to invest the second million with them, the truth, according to court documents, was that hed blown those investor funds on other costs, including Kiddars overhead and a $2-million house hed built on spec in McLean.

His Herndon Silver Line project became a sort of personal piggy bank. Hitt raised nearly $8 million more than he needed for the deal and then used some of the extra to pay down his staggering credit-card tabs$111,151 in Wizards and Caps charges, $59,220 at the jeweler Bulgari, $11,462 at the Inn at Perry Cabin on the Eastern Shore, $2,897 at the Four Seasons in Georgetown, upward of $86,000 in private-jet rentals and travel, and various other expenses.

And it turned out that for all his talk of skin in the game, he had none of his own money invested. (Hitt declined multiple requests to be interviewed.)

When news of the fraud hit, says Nicholas Benton, the Falls Church newspaper owner, A lot of peoples eyes rolled through the back of their heads. They were just stunned.

Cindy Jones, the philanthropist who had shared theWashington Lifecover with Hitt and Carrie Marriott, felt the same way. I was absolutely shocked, she says. To be honest with you, Carrie and I were both sort of appalled. It was disappointing. You dont even want to be associated with somebody like that.

By the morning of his sentencing, on a blustery day last June, Hitt had already lost both the Arlington home he shared with his wife and daughters and the Mosaic-district townhouse hed kept with his girlfriend. Even so, he still looked the part hed played for years, in an immaculately tailored suit, pumping hands as though hed just arrived at his retirement party. Hey, guys! Thanks for coming, he greeted some friends outside Courtroom 700. Your sister know youre here? You look good!

The wreckage that Hitt wrought is breathtaking: Twenty-one investors say they lost more than $27 million combined. On top of that, Hitts employees, vendors, lenders, and charities hed pledged to support, among others, claim theyre out almost $59 million. The duped include the Washington Ballet, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Halcyon House, the Smithsonian, Hope Multiplied (which never got its $50,000), and Craft Media, the PR firm that helped Hitt cultivate his image.

Other damage is harder to quantify. Such as the stalled revival of Broad and Washington streets, where Hitt made his splashy entre into Falls Church. The corner remains occupied by two rundown office buildings and the Applebeesjust as it was back in 2014 when Hitt was first spinning himself as the areas real-estate savior. It turned out he never really had a personal stake in the property; according to court documents, he covered his share with funds from investors.

I wish I could see inside his brain to understand how somebody could do the things he did, says Dave Mark, Hitts former neighbor and business partner, who claims in court papers that Hitt owes him more than $1 million. You cant imagine the sense of betrayal I feel. Its like a burning hole in my gut.

Before the sentencing, Hitts family sent letters to the judge alluding to reasons why he may have strayed. Hitts sister Tracy Millar told the judge that alcoholism runs in the Hitt family and implied that mental illness was to blame for her brothers actions. His sister Jodi Nash leaned heavily on other family pathologies, describing how tough it had been for Hitt after his college soccer career ended and he didnt find a role in the family company: With my dad, brother Brett, and brother-in-law Jim Millar driving dynamic business growth at Hitt company, and Todds hyper competitiveness in achieving recognition in the business world, he struggled transitioning, she wrote, asking for leniency.

Hitts wife described a fractious dynamic among the Hitt men: I watched how the male members of [Todds] family treated him and have admired how he has dealt with it through the years, despite not receiving proper recognition for his accomplishments. . . . His father and brother were jealous of his talents and sought to undermine him at every turn. (Russell and Brett Hitt wrote brief, generally supportive letters. Through their lawyer, Hitts siblings and parents declined to comment. His wife also declined to comment.)

Or maybe it was soccers fault. In her letter, Hitts wife also wrote that her husband had been diagnosed with a succession of mild traumatic brain injuries from all his years of playing, which she said his doctor had warned could cause erratic behavior.

Would this depiction of Hitt cause the judge to soften? In fact, Hitts lawyers had already cut a deal. He had been unusually cooperative with authoritiesimmediately confessing when he discovered he was under investigation and even volunteering new evidence. Whats more, his family, apparently able to look past how hed dragged their name through more mud than youd find on one of their construction sites, had agreed to give the government $20 million to help repay his victims. As a result, prosecutors had joined Hitts defense in asking the judge to give him six and a half years of jail time for pleading guilty to one count of securities fraud. Not exactly a light penalty, but less than the possible maximum of 20 years.

All that remained was for Judge Leonie Brinkema to hear from Hitt himself, then decide whether to go along with the terms.

Hitt took the podium that morning as a swath of relatives looked on. Im deeply sorry for the pain Ive caused my entire large, loving family, he said, the exuberance drained from his tone. I apologize to the investors, friends, business associates, all my employees, who I cared a great deal about. . . . Its going to take me some time to fully understand how and why I did this, but Ill spend my incarcerated time and probationary time and, in fact, the rest of my life contemplating this and seeking, in my own way, redemption.

By this point, Hitt had racked up a lot of practice convincing smart people to believe in himuseful experience, perhaps. After he finished speaking, Judge Brinkema announced that indeed six and a half years behind bars would do. Youre not the first good person, she said, whos done bad things.

This article appears in theFebruary 2020issue ofWashingtonian.

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Todd Hitt's Shameless Con: How Washington Society Got Scammed by One of Its Own - Washingtonian

General News of Tuesday, 4 February 2020

Source: classfmonline.com

Chairman of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Eric Nyamekye

The Chairman of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Eric Nyamekye has bemoaned the level of corruption in the country despite the many churches scattered around every nook and cranny of Ghana.

Our dear nation is full of many churches, yet, corruption has filled the land. This means the Church in this generation is not salty enough to cure the corruption of the land. The church was established to bring a solution to the corruption and not to partake of it, he said.

Apostle Nyamekye, therefore, advised Christians to uphold righteousness, honesty, hard work and faithfulness in their various workplaces and homes so that the fortunes of the nations would be transformed for the better.

Speaking at the Bantama Central Assembly church auditorium during a fundraising event towards the construction of a National Cathedral in Accra, Apostle Nyamekye said the National Cathedral would only meet its intended purpose as a symbol of the Church of God if Christians model righteousness in every sphere of society.

Speaking on the topic: The Church and the National Cathedral, with Ephesians 3:10 as his main scripture reference, Apostle Nyamekye stressed that the church is the most powerful institution in the world established for the transformation of society.

He said that Gods intent for establishing the church is that, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God would be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms.

According to the Chairman, these rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms are the forces that govern nations, adding that, political figures are in no capacity to confront such powers; instead, the Church is the only institution equipped to deal with them.

This is why some people come into power with good intentions; however, when they assume office, they fail to live up to expectations. This is because there are forces that govern nations and the ordinary politician has no authority to confront them, he explained.

Among other reasons, Apostle Nyamekye said that the Church is powerful because it possesses the truth, who is Jesus Christ. He said the Church was established by the blood of Jesus Christ and has Jesus Christ as its foundation. Jesus Christ is the Truth that brings liberation, and this Truth can only be found in the Church, he pointed out.

He added that the church is the foundation and pillar of truth; therefore, if the church is immoral, it weakens the truth. The church must, therefore, be the light the shines on darkness.

Touching on the essence of the National Cathedral, Apostle Eric Nyamekye said that the presence of a National Cathedral in the city tells us that God is in the midst of the people. It indicates the true character of the people and reminds the Christian believer who he or she has become in the Lord a temple. It also challenges Christians to live for the truth, and serves as a constant reminder to us that Christ will one day reign in the midst of His people.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has revealed that construction of the national cathedral would officially commence on 5 March this year.

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Ghana full of churches but corruption has filled the land Pentecost Chairman - GhanaWeb

AN HISTORIC Bury church has celebrated its milestone tricentennial birthday.

Bury Unitarian Church recently marked the 300th anniversary of its foundation and of non-conformist worship in the town.

Over the centuries several chapels and buildings have been built and utilised by the church in Bury.

Unitarianism first sprung up in Poland in the 16th century based on the central tenet of rejection of the Trinity God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and instead adhering to a strict monotheistic interpretation of the unity of God.

Within a few decades, various indepedent Unitarian movements emerged in Transylvania, England, Wales and the United States of America, which only later came to be influenced by and shared beliefs, philosophies and practices with one another.

Beyond its repudiation of the Trinity there is no overarching doctrine of Unitarianism, however generally accepted beliefs follow a school of liberal Christianity, such as understanding Jesus as a prophet of God, but not divine, and as one whose life offers the perfect model for emulation.

Followers of Unitarian Churches also believe in human free will, of basing beliefs on rational enquiry, and that the bible was written by human authors and is subject to human error; as well as rejecting concepts of Original Sin, predestination and eternal damnation.

The 17th century saw the continuation of a chronic a period of religious upheaval throughout England and Europe punctuated by devastating wars and oppression as various sects of Protestants and Catholics vied for religious and political supremacy out of which the Unitarian Churches were born.

In 1662, Lancastrian Revered Henry Pendlebury of Holcombe became one of hundreds of Church of England clergymen to be ejected from their parishes after he refused to accept the revised Book of Common Prayer.

He would go on to spend the next 25 years preaching illegally at various venues around the county, including in a barn owned by Bury man Richard Kay.

Following the moderate relaxation of restraints posed on dissenting protestantism granted by the Toleration Act of 1688, Rev Pendlebury formed a congregation at Kays home at Bast House in Walmersley.

This congregation eventually led to construction of what would become the first Unitarian chapel in the centre of Bury, located in Silver Street.

The church was founded by four members of the dissident Lancastrian congregation, Richard Kay, Samuel Wareing, Robert Wareing and Richard Hampson; and was completed in 1719.

Over the succeeding decades the church moved away from the Trinitarianism preached by Rev Pendlebury, and with Reverend William Allard, appointed in 1803, eventually evolved into a true Unitarian congregation.

A Sunday school housed in a warehouse off Silver Street was added to the church in 1805, and as the congregation grew a new chapel was built in the location now occupied by The Exchange office block. This chapel was shortlived, however, and after being deemed unsafe was demolished to be replaced by a third chapel in Bank Street in 1852.

The second half of the 19th century also saw expansion of the day school and the opening of a sister church in Chesham.

By the turn of the 20th century the church also boasted a lively social community hosting picnics, Whit Walks, parties and bonfires.

The twin churches and Sunday school continued until 1969 when they amalgamated and were sold off for development to fund construction of a fourth church on the area previously used as the Bank Street chapels carpark.

Named Bury Unitarian Church the new building opened in March 1974 and is still in use today.

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LOOKING BACK: 300 years of Unitarian Church movement in Bury - Bury Times

Wall to wall carpet provides softness and comfort under foot, additional insulation and noise reduction. Its also one of the most affordable flooring materials you can install to update the look of any room in your home.

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There is a wide range of carpet materials and designs to consider. Look for a carpet that offers great value, while meeting your aesthetic taste, foot traffic and maintenance preferences.

Did you know that carpet is of the most cost effective flooring replacement options? Low grade materials cost as little as $1.5-2.00 per square foot. In general, carpet prices for decent quality materials, such as nylon, are $5-8.5 per square foot. Of course there are also high-end carpet options, such as wool, which can cost as much as $18-20 per square foot.

The figures below are only an estimate for basic labor. This is NOT a substitute for a quote from a reputable vendor or contractor. We strongly recommend that you contact a flooring professional for a more accurate carpet installation price estimate.

Price estimates are for Olefin(polypropylene) carpet.

what is included:

1. Material / equipment delivery, as well as service provider transportation to and from the job site.2. Preparing the job site, including protection of existing structure(s), finishes, and materials.3. Site cleanup and debris removal at project completion.4. Labor setup time, mobilization time and minimum hourly charges that are typically included for carpet installation projects.

what is excluded:

1. Removing, relocating, repairing, or modifying existing framing, surfacing, HVAC, electrical, and plumbing systems.2. Testing and remediation of hazardous materials, such as asbestos or lead.3. General contractor overhead and markup for organizing and supervising the project. If a GC is supervising carpet installation, expect to add 15% to 25% to the total cost.4. Permit or inspection fees required by your local building department for the project.

Note: Complex installation jobs can cost almost 2x the labor prices quoted in this estimate.

When you calculate your carpet cost, you have to consider the following: carpeting comes in 12 ft rolls. Thus, if your room is wider than 12 ft in both directions, then you will have to use 2 runs of 12 ft wide carpet.

For example, if your room is 1313 ft, you will have to use two 12 ft wide pieces, because you have to cover 1 additional ft in your room.

This will significantly increase your material costs (as in example you would waste 1113 ft of carpet). However, there is no way around it, since no one uses left over patches of carpet to cover the leftover square footage.

Here is you how much you can expect to spend on top carpeting options. Generally, labor costs to install any of these materials will be similar to the ones quoted in the table above.

Nylon is considered to be the best quality carpet and one that stands up really well to high foot traffic. Therefore, its no surprise that nylon carpets are the most popular among homeowners, and are installed in over 60% of all homes in America.

Nylon boasts the strongest fiber, which makes it ideal for any room of the house, including the hallway, as well as residencies that have many kids and/or pets. Other considerable benefits of a nylon carpet are that it is the MOST durable of the synthetics, is very easy to clean and maintain. Also, it is non-allergenic, resistant to soiling and mildew.

On the down side, nylon is the most expensive of the synthetic carpeting choices. Therefore, it may not be ideal if you are on a tight budget.

If you are thinking of purchasing nylon carpeting, keep in mind that there are 2 general types:

1. Type 6 nylon this is a budget option. One of the biggest cons is inconsistent fiber quality, which will make this carpet more susceptible to wear and tear.

2. Type 6.6 nylon this is the high-quality material that is used in brand name carpeting. While it costs more, it offers all the superior features and durability of a premium carpet.

Cost: $4-10 per square foot

This is the second most popular material (Nylon is # 1) and is known for its durability, wool-like feel and appearance. Today its the fastest growing material used in residential wall to wall carpeting, and can be found in about 30% of homes across the US.

Initially, olefin was designed for use outside and in basements due to its superior resistance to moisture, mildew, staining, piling, static and shedding. Moreover, it is also a highly colorfast material and will not fade in the sunlight, because it is dyed before its made into fiber. Another huge benefit is that olefin carpeting stands up really well to heavy foot traffic.

Cost: $3-6.5 per square foot

Polyester carpeting is a great option, if you are on a budget. While it is not as durable as nylon, it offers stain and mildew resistance, and can be easily cleaned. Polyester carpets are available in a wide selection of textures and colors. On the down side, this material is susceptible to piling and shedding.

If you want to go for polyester carpeting, its best to spend a little extra on better quality. Look for polyester carpets that have a low profile and high-density construction. These will do a much better job standing up to foot traffic over time.

Its best to stay away from high pile, low-density polyester fibers, as these will have the shortest life span, and will not look as good, especially if used heavily.

Cost: $1.5-4.5 per square foot

If you are looking for natural luxury flooring, wool carpeting is worth checking out. Its a high-end material that offers a uniquely rich look and feel, along with excellent resilience and durability. A wool carpet has tightly packed fibers, which makes it naturally stain and dirt resistant.

On the down side, wool is food for months and is susceptible to shedding. Another potential issue is that it can be damaged by certain alkaline carpet cleaners. Also, its a lot more expensive than all of the synthetic carpet options.

Cost: $5-20 per square foot

To make your selection process easier, we have compiled a chart that compares different carpet materials.

If you are planning to install carpet on the stairs, the best material is nylon! Safety is a top priority when it comes to selecting carpet for your stairs, because the wrong type of carpet, or one that is very worn out will it much easier to slip and fall.

So how can you avoid dangerous accidents?

Look for a nylon carpet that has a low pile, less than 3/4 inch, which will make it both slip resistant and durable over time to high traffic. Plush style is better and safer compared to looped style, such as Berber. Moreover, highly twisted nylon fiber is a lot more durable and longer lasting, especially on stairs, so look for a carpet that has a tuft twist rating of at least 5.

Another important safety consideration is installing the right carpet pad. Its best to go for a firm thin material, which will provide the most sturdy surface. Good options include thin rubber, synthetic, foam, wool, or felt padding.

There are a number of trusted carpeting manufacturers that produce a wide range of good quality carpets, using different materials.

Top carpet brands in the US are:

ShawMohawkBeaulieu of AmericaInterfaceMillikenJ&J IndustriesCollins & Aikman

There are a number of things you can do to ensure that you get the best quality carpet and installation without being overcharged.

1. Ask for quotes from at least 2-3 carpet vendors and contractors. You may find that a small company may charge less than a large vendor, such as LOWES or Home Depot.

2. Consider installing carpeting in multiple rooms/large area of the house vs. just one room. Contractors typically do a markup for small projects and are willing to give better pricing on larger jobs. In fact, you can realize significant savings on the material and labor cost per square foot of a larger vs. a smaller job.

3. Be flexible about scheduling your project. Often, installers are willing to give discounts on their labor during slow/dead times when they are looking to get work.

4. Take the time to check references before hiring a flooring company. You dont want to end up paying more money to redo someones sloppy, unprofessional work.

5. We recommend hiring only licensed and insured pros, especially if your project is of more than average complexity.

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2019 Carpet Installation Cost: Nylon, Wool, & Polyester ...

If youre ready to bring new life into your house with a makeover from the ground up, youre ready to learn more about carpet installation costs. Installation costs vary greatly, depending on a number of factors such as the type of carpet, the number of square yards, any necessary repair work, the number of stairs you have, and where you live. Due to these variables, the national average cost of carpet installation ranges between $200 and $4,500.

To start planning for your new carpet, measure roughly how many square yards of carpet youll need. Research the main carpet styles and materials you like to get a feel for what they cost. Nylon carpets are typically the least expensive, and wool is one of the higher-end carpets. Prices per square foot might range from under $2 to over $10, depending on materials. Count the number of stairs you want carpeted; each one might average between $3 and $10 (or more for box steps). Carpet removal can be an added cost as well, averaging $1-$4 per square yard, depending on the company and regional disposal costs.

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The 10 Best Carpet Installers in Houston, TX (with Free ...

If youre ready to bring new life into your house with a makeover from the ground up, youre ready to learn more about carpet installation costs. Installation costs vary greatly, depending on a number of factors such as the type of carpet, the number of square yards, any necessary repair work, the number of stairs you have, and where you live. Due to these variables, the national average cost of carpet installation ranges between $200 and $4,500.

To start planning for your new carpet, measure roughly how many square yards of carpet youll need. Research the main carpet styles and materials you like to get a feel for what they cost. Nylon carpets are typically the least expensive, and wool is one of the higher-end carpets. Prices per square foot might range from under $2 to over $10, depending on materials. Count the number of stairs you want carpeted; each one might average between $3 and $10 (or more for box steps). Carpet removal can be an added cost as well, averaging $1-$4 per square yard, depending on the company and regional disposal costs.

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The 10 Best Carpet Installers in Virginia Beach, VA 2020

We Cut the Cost of Carpet, Not the Quality

At the S&G Carpet and More carpet stores, we cut out the middle-man and get direct savings for our customers on all of our carpet, laminate, hardwood, vinyl and waterproof core flooring products. We can even beat our flooring competitors prices with our Low Price Guarantee. Plus, S&G selects carpet designed for durability and will last for years. To top off a great deal on your new carpet, we provide quick installation and financing with approved credit. You can expect to get more carpet for your money at an S&G Carpet and More store!

For the broadest selection of hardwood floors with the best pricing and warranty, come to an S&G hardwood showroom, Our hardwood floors come in a wide variety of wood species, colors, and widths. In addition to the classic North American hardwoods (like red oak, white oak, maple, and ash) we offer exotic hardwood species from all over the world. S&G exotic hardwood floor selections include bamboo flooring, tiger wood floors and Brazilian cherry wood floors. Exotic hardwoods give homeowners the chance to better express their own personal decorating tastes with a unique looking floor.

Find the broadest selection of laminate flooring at any of the nine S&G flooring showrooms. Families with active lifestyles that are looking for stone, tile, or wood flooring should definitely stop in one of our store locations in Sacramento and the Bay Area and check out our laminate floor inventory. Laminate floors are incredibly durable, easy to care for and come in a wide variety of realistic stone and wood flooring designs. If you love the look of real hardwood but are concerned with the upkeep, than laminate floors are the answer.

As always, you can ask a professionally trained flooring associate at S&G Carpet and More to assist you throughout your entire carpet, hardwood floor, and laminate floor buying experience. They will also be able to help you find the best laminate floors, engineered hardwood floor, and installation options at the lowest prices.

S&G Carpet and More have been selling and installing flooring since 1948. We have the widest selection and best pricing on carpet, hardwood, laminate, vinyl and waterproof cor with the best warranties in the business. You can find our showroom locations in Rancho Cordova, Rocklin, Elk Grove, Fremont, Pleasant Hill, Pleasanton, Santa Clara, San Jose and Cupertino.

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Carpet, Wood, & Laminate Stores | Sacramento, Bay Area ...

Table of Contents

Determining how much carpet you need is simple, especially with our carpet calculator. However, before you begin, you need the dimensions of your room, or rooms, as well as the specs for your carpeted stairs. Remember, the goal when laying carpet is to not have seams, or as few as possible. To do so, your carpet calculations have to be spot on. As such, many homeowners contact carpet professionals to ensure they dont overspend on materials.

If you already know your carpet area, enter the numbers into the carpet calculator above. If not, continue reading to see how to calculate carpet area.

To determine the carpet area, measure and draw the room. Measure the width of the room at its widest point. Measure the length of the room at its longest stretch. Enter these numbers into the carpet estimator above. If youd like to do everything by hand, lets get into some math.

Multiply those two longest points by each other to determine the square footage of the room. If your carpet installer requires the total carpeted area in square yards, divide the rooms square footage by nine. Repeat this process if youre carpeting multiple rooms.

As you might imagine, adding carpet to stairs is not as simple. Determining the exact measurements for both the stair tread (the horizontal part) and the stair riser (the vertical part) can be confusing. Even further, converting those measurements into square yards is another obstacle all together.

Luckily, our stairs carpet calculator takes the guesswork out. For stairs, measure one stair tread from one side to the other side of the rail (or wall) and then round it off to the nearest foot. Then, measure the stair riser from the bottom to the top of the tread and round off to the nearest foot. Multiply these two together to determine the area of one stair. Add three inches if you plan to use carpet padding. Count all the stairs and enter these numbers into the stair calculator. If doing by hand, multiply your stair area (plus the padding) by the number of stairs to determine how many square feet of carpet youll need for all stairs.

As you can see, entering the room and stair dimensions into our carpet calculator makes life much easier.

Carpeting is usually sold by square yards and most come in rolls of 9-, 12- or 15-feet wide. Therefore, you need to know how many square yards (not square feet) of carpet you require. While our carpet area calculator determines how many square yards of carpet you need, you can once again do the math on your own.

All manual calculations above tell you how many square feet of carpet you need. To convert to yardage, follow all the steps above. Then, add the square footage of all rooms and stairs together. To get the total square yardage, divide that number, or the total square footage by nine.

Carpet Square Yardage = Carpet Square Footage/9.

According to our carpet installation cost estimator, carpet installation prices, if you hire a pro, range between $200 and $4,000, with an average cost of $1,500. Looking at the carpet costs a little closer, you can determine the full cost breakdown.

In total, if you hire a carpet installer, your carpet installation cost could range between $10 and $98 per yard. If youre getting multiple carpet bids, which we always recommend, make sure all bids use the same units. If one contractor gives you a price per square yard and another gives you a price per square foot, ask one to convert their total. As always, when looking at home remodeling bids, you have to compare apples to apples to ensure youre hiring the best carpet contractor.

Just like tile or wood, there are numerous carpet types and styles to choose from. Of course, each bring along different price points. If youd like to limit your price of carpet, evaluate the following options and choose a carpet that fits your budget.

Carpet

Minimum Cost Per Square Foot

Maximum Cost Per Square Foot

Minimum Cost Per Square Yard

Maximum Cost Per Square Yard

Polyester

$0.25

$4.50

$2.25

$40.50

Stainmaster

$0.40

$1.67

$3.50

$15.00

Textured

$0.75

$2.00

$6.75

$18.00

Olefin

$1.00

$2.00

$9.00

$15.00

Carpet Tiles

$1.10

$4.00

$5.00

$9.90

Triexta

$1.25

$5.00

$11.25

$45.00

Level Loop

$1.30

$4.00

$11.70

$36.00

Berber

$1.50

$10.00

$13.50

$90.00

Nylon

$1.67

$5.00

$15.00

$45.00

Friez

$2.00

$3.50

$18.00

$31.50

Saxony

$2.00

$7.00

$18.00

$63.00

SmartStrand

$2.30

$4.50

$20.70

$40.50

Plush

$3.50

$4.50

$31.50

$40.50

Wool

$4.50

$10.00

$40.50

$90.00

Lumped into those carpet labor costs above are extras that many homeowners dont consider. Beyond the actual carpet and installation work, other factors are at play. Therefore, any true carpet cost calculator must take the following items into consideration.

Installing carpet is not a dangerous or difficult project, but it is quite demanding. Beyond cutting and kneeing the carpet into place, you have to install sections in certain areas. Again, place carpet seams in low-traffic areas. Despite the demanding work, with all the tools and know-how, you can install one room of carpet in less than a few hours.

Rather than spending a lot of energy on carpet installation, most homeowners hire carpet pros to get the job done quickly and efficiently. You wont only save time, but also the stress that comes with all physically demanding DIY projects.

Carpeting makes any room feel warmer, both literally and figuratively. Once you determine how much carpet you need, use ImproveNet to connect with at least three local carpet contractors to get the best bid for your project.

Last updated on Feb 27, 2018

Originally posted here:
2020 Carpet Calculator | Calculate Carpet Area | Carpet ...

Got an extra half a million bucks laying around? You could own a New Albany mansion that's being auctioned off.

Beckort Auctions listed the more than 10,000 square foot mansion and event space at904 East Main Street in New Albany for an online auction, and the opening bid is$495,000.

It was appraised in 2016, however, closer to $1 million$850,000.

The historical Samuel Culbertson Mansion is a 4-story structure built in 1886and located in New Albany'sMansion Row National Historic Register District, according to the auction listing.

William S. Culbertson built it as a wedding gift for his son.It's since had three ownersDr. John Hazlewood in 1896,the Order of Red Men in 1939 and the current owners, who bought the property in 2004.

The listing boasts features like original mahogany doors, a mahogany staircase, original pocket doors, hardwood floors, "numerous" fireplaces with original mantles, "awesome" original built-in cast-iron cook stove, original shutters on first floor, servants staircase, arched brick doorways in the lower level, all brick construction including interior walls, and a ground floor full bar dating back to 1939.

More: Renovation of Riverwood family home includes design, decor touches from all three children

The mansion underwent restorations in 2019 and 2018, includingexterior painting of the front and east facades,capping andtuck pointing of all five of thebrick chimneys, a new HVAC on the first floor, a restored bathroom on first floor and a staircase boarder carpet installation.

Other features:

Online bidding ends on March 3 and the mansion will go to the highest bidder.

For more information and photos, visithttps://www.beckortauctions.com/project/details/51278/or call 812-738-9476.

Reach breaking news reporter Sarah Ladd at sladd@courier-journal.com. Follow her on Twitter at@ladd_sarah.Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/subscribe.

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This historical New Albany mansion with a banquet hall, walk-in beer cooler up for auction - Courier Journal

With their most recent office redevelopment project in the bag, the big question is where J.C. and Maria Vargas might turn their attention next.

Considering that theyve already overhauled a dilapidated motel, followed by reinventing a derelict radio station, the sky seems to be the limit.

Absolutely, said J.C. Vargas. We dont have anything thats closed at this point, but there are a lot of places were looking at and dreaming about.

The Vargases professional expertise includes everything from real estate to consulting, but J.C.s background knowledge of construction led them to begin dabbling in redevelopment in 2014. Their most recent success story involves the old WCGC radio building at 6021 Wilkinson Blvd. in Belmont.

After noticing that the iconic and locally well-known property was up for sale, they bought it for $305,000 in late 2018, then spent the bulk of the past year overhauling it. It now offers just shy of 5,000 rentable square feet between the two floors, with half a dozen offices and a conference room on each level.

New occupants

The first tenant, Star Leasing, moved into the second level long before the overall building renovation was complete.

They were eager to get settled in, Vargas said.

The second tenant, Elite Spine Center, is a chiropractic clinic that celebrated its grand opening on the first floor Friday. Both businesses have signed three-year leases with an option to renew.

I think theyll both be there for a while, said Vargas. (The redevelopment) turned out really nice. I think they got a bargain.

The radio building was constructed in 1978 on a roughly one-acre lot. It carried WCGCs Christian programming from the beginning and was a place where live broadcasts took place for years, often hosting local classes of schoolchildren on field trips. It also was used to broadcast local sporting events.

The station was more recently operated by WHVN, which is continuing to use a transformer in the basement to relay signals to towers elsewhere.

Before buying the property in 2008, the Vargases did a walk-through, where they saw everything from a piano still tucked into one corner of the old studio, to a vintage microphone hanging from the ceiling.

It was something else. It was like a snapshot in time, said Maria Vargas. It had shag carpet all over the walls in the recording studio.

Satisfying result

But based on the configuration of the rooms, and the appealing architecture of the exterior, it didnt take long for them to see its potential for hosting a couple of professional service businesses of some type.

Newly installed features include wall-to-wall carpet in the offices and granite countertops in the bathrooms, along with Crafstman-inspired moldings, and new paint and trim. The hallways and reception areas inside were upgraded with a ceramic wood floor that features a ceramic tile inlay.

We also removed vinyl siding on the outside, said J.C. Vargas. We put a wood-looking clad and it came out just beautiful.

Major landscaping also included bringing in fill dirt to lift up and reconfigure the parking lot. There are now about 25 spaces in the front, and another 20 in the back.

Dearness Gardens of Huntersville installed the aesthetic conifer landscape, while the architect for the exterior of the building was Tom Giblin of Charlotte.

All in all, Vargas said it proved to be a worthwhile project.

There were no major problems, he said. There were just the normal challenges you have in an older building when youre taking things apart and finding things you didnt expect.

But it was all pretty much expected. There was nothing that made me wish I didnt do it.

You can reach Michael Barrett at 704-869-1826 or on Twitter @GazetteMike.

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Renovation of old radio building wraps up in Belmont - Gaston Gazette