.NET REST API & SQL Backend

I need a clean, well-structured ASP.NET REST service that processes static infrastructure data stored in a SQL database. The service must expose endpoints to create, read, update and delete the records, returning JSON throughout.

Key points
• Technology stack: ASP.NET (Core preferred) with Entity Framework (Code First or Database First—use what lets you move fastest) and Microsoft SQL Server.
• Data model: a small set of tables representing our infrastructure items; I will supply the exact fields once we start, but plan for typical ID, name, location and status columns.
• Endpoints: /items (GET list, POST create), /items/{id} (GET, PUT, DELETE) plus any helper routes you feel are useful.
• Processing rules: basic validation (unique names, non-null locations) and a couple of server-side calculations—nothing computationally heavy, mostly formatting.
• Authentication can be stubbed (e.g., simple API key in header) because the primary goal is the data-processing workflow.
• Testing: include a minimal Postman collection or cURL snippets so I can hit each endpoint out of the box.
• Deliverables: complete Visual Studio solution, SQL scripts or migration files, and a short README explaining environment variables and build steps.

Acceptance criteria
– All CRUD operations work against the SQL backend.
– JSON responses follow a consistent structure with clear status codes.
– Code compiles and runs locally with one command (dotnet run or docker-compose up).

If this fits your skill set, let me know your estimated turnaround time and any similar projects you can point me to.