01:58, 2008-Jun-30
R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. has named Andrew Gilchrist executive vice president, chief financial officer and chief information officer, effective July 1.
Gilchrist, who has served as senior vice president and chief financial officer since 2006, will replace Donald Lamonds, who is retiring Aug. 1 after 30 years.
Gilchrist joined Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. in 1997 and held a number of management positions there and with the company's former parent company, British American Tobacco. Gilchrist later held executive positions at R.J. Reynolds or its parent company, Reynolds American Inc.
Kirsten Valle
County officials have issued a stop-work order for the luxury condo tower at the EpiCentre, a project already brought to a standstill because of a dispute between the EpiCentre and its residential building's developers.
Mecklenburg County Code Enforcement announced the order Thursday, citing safety reasons. Work on the 50-story 210 Trade building stopped in February, with two floors built, because of a disagreement over technical building-code issues.
The dispute has prompted lawsuits from both affiliates of Indianapolis-based Flaherty & Collins Properties, which is developing the condo tower, and the Charlotte-based Ghazi Co., which is developing the rest of the EpiCentre, a high-profile mixed-use complex being built at Trade and College streets.
The county's stop-work order, which affects the residential portion of the project only, will remain in place, with decisions on the remaining issues deferred until Sept. 15, according to a news release. Code enforcement Director James Bartl said the order simply keeps developers from starting work again without talking to the county. The building's final certificate of occupancy will not be issued until the code issues are resolved, the release said.
The code enforcement office and Charlotte Fire Department have seen “some evidence over the past 15 days that the owners of the property are considering taking steps to resolve their code issues,” the release said. The county's decision allows those groups to continue to work toward solving the problems, it said. Kirsten Valle