It's not often that a 70-year-old business holds a ribbon-cutting ceremony, but Hooten Equipment Company thinks they have a lot to celebrate.
The company, specializing in food service and refrigeration equipment since 1945, lauded the completion of a $900,000 renovation project at its Virginia Street West location on Wednesday.
Ten different buildings at the company's location were refurbished over the last year and a half. Improvements ranged from new fencing and asphalt for its parking lots to rehabbed facades, awnings, roofing and windows. A new company sign made by Reaford Signs now sits near 7th Avenue's intersection with Virginia Street West.
The Charleston Urban Renewal Authority presented a check for $150,000 to Hooten Equipment President Mark Williams on Wednesday. The authority provides matching grants for facade enhancement projects as "an incentive to improve the appearance of a property," CURA Executive Director Jim Edwards said.
Williams said the company had been looking at other locations in Charleston and elsewhere when the owners realized the current facilities needed aesthetic upgrades. They ultimately decided to stay on the West Side.
"When people think of Hooten Equipment Company, they associate our business with the West Side. This is our home," Williams said. "We also felt that with the beautification of this area, it would possibly encourage other businesses like ours to get involved and have that same approach."
Mayor Danny Jones also commended the company for its decision to remain at the location it's occupied since the 1950s.
"Hooten Equipment has furnished so many of our hospitals, schools and [other] institutions," he said.
Charleston Main Streets and West Side Main Street also played a "big role in helping this project come to fruition," Williams added.
The enhancements benefit not only the company, but also the neighborhood, West Side Program Director Steven Romano said.
For example, the 7-Eleven gas station across the street from Hooten is "a hot bed of activity, so just by securing the perimeter of their buildings, they've secured the entire neighborhood," Romano said.
The company also plans to install a public art piece on its exterior facing Virginia Street West in the spring, which is also covered by CURA's facade enhancement grant.
"The goal is not necessarily to replace things, it's to rehab existing infrastructure," Romano said.
The company has more than 40 employees throughout the state.
Reach Elaina Sauber
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