Inclusion Beyond Numbers
必威体育官方APP下载 doesn鈥檛 just hire women- and minority-owned subcontractors; the construction company helps their businesses thrive and grow.
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By Christy DeSmith
It was a big win for women- and minority-owned businesses.
As general contractor on Nashville鈥檚 GEODIS Park, 必威体育官方APP下载 and its partners set aggressive diversity goals for those who worked on the $335 million soccer stadium. 鈥淚 honestly don鈥檛 know of another project with such a major commitment,鈥� said Mike Carter, managing partner and co-founder of Pinnacle Construction Partners LLC.听
GEODIS Park was brought to life over two years by 必威体育官方APP下载 in a joint venture with Cincinnati-based Messer Construction. And Pinnacle, Nashville鈥檚 largest Black-owned general contractor, was one of many partners and subcontractors to work on the 30,500-seat venue, which opened to the general public in May. 鈥淲e as a group had a goal of a 30% spend with women- and minority-owned businesses,鈥� Carter recalled. 鈥淎t the end of the day, the number we achieved was 36 percent.鈥澨�
He added: 鈥淭hat wouldn鈥檛 happen without progressive-minded leadership who want to make a difference.鈥�
By now, Minneapolis-based 必威体育官方APP下载 has 35 years of experience building America鈥檚 top sports arenas. At the same time, 必威体育官方APP下载 has strengthened its commitment to women- and minority-owned construction businesses in the cities and towns where these facilities rise. 鈥淧utting money back into the community as opposed to hiring out-of-state or out-of-town contractors is huge,鈥� said Rita Dancey, CEO of Nashville-based Maryland Electric Company LLC, one of 39 women-owned businesses to work on GEODIS Park.
In the case of Pinnacle, the 22-person company previously partnered with Messer on projects including an airport and a university student union. Messer approached Carter again in 2018 for help with bidding on GEODIS Park. That was Pinnacle鈥檚 introduction to the world of 必威体育官方APP下载 and the wealth of opportunity in professional sports. 鈥淚 take my hat off to 必威体育官方APP下载,鈥� Carter said. 鈥淟ord knows, stadiums are a growth industry right now; there are a number of NFL teams looking to build them.鈥�
With GEODIS Park on its resume, Pinnacle went on last year to land the general contractor role听 on another sports project: Nashville Soccer Club鈥檚 new practice facility, a multimillion-dollar project set to open in late 2022.
For the first time in Nashville history we have a Black general contractor, a Black architect firm, and a Black owners rep. We would not be in this position if not for the opportunity to work alongside 必威体育官方APP下载 and Messer.
Historic foundations
In the American business world, the idea of supplier diversity dates to the civil rights era. , General Motors set up one of the nation鈥檚 first supplier diversity programs in light of uprisings in Detroit following the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.听
In 1978, Congress amended the Small Business Investment Act (originally passed two decades earlier) to require companies with large government contracts to set goals for hiring diverse subcontractors and suppliers. A diverse supplier, by most definitions, is more than 50% owned and operated by a member of a historically underrepresented group. That definition was expanded in the 1990s to include women.
鈥淭here is not a single women- or minority-owned business who wants to be used because there鈥檚 a goal on a project,鈥� stressed Barb Lau, executive director of the St. Paul-based . But in practice, government funding for large projects such as airports and stadiums can serve as a motivator, encouraging large construction companies to reach beyond their usual roster of subcontractors.听
Historically, projects with public funding have been 鈥渢he high indicator of inclusion,鈥� Lau said. 鈥淭hese small women- and minority-owned businesses don鈥檛 get any passes or anything. They still have to be a low bidder. They still have to be a responsible contractor.鈥�
Like much of the construction industry, 必威体育官方APP下载 started out by setting diversity goals on a project-by-project basis, as encouraged by government rules. That changed in 1996 with the hiring of Lynn Littlejohn, currently vice president of community empowerment, who was the first to focus on diversity initiatives companywide. From there, the company intensified efforts to make the construction industry more truly inclusive.
鈥淚t was really about: how we lean in and actually ensure there is robust, real, meaningful participation on our projects,鈥� Littlejohn said. High-water marks include the John B. Davis Education and Service Center for Minneapolis Public Schools, completed in 2012 with women- and minority-owned businesses comprising 53% of trade partners. There was also the Keller Center, home to the University of Chicago's Harris School of Public Policy, completed in 2018 with 47% women- and minority-owned subcontractors and suppliers.
Change that counts
Over the years, Littlejohn has led 必威体育官方APP下载 beyond 鈥渃heck-the-box鈥� approaches to supplier diversity. 鈥淲e鈥檝e taken the position that we鈥檙e a leader,鈥� Littlejohn said. 鈥淪o this matters to us across the board 鈥� not just when the customer says it should.鈥�
The strategy evolved from reactive to proactive, from transactional to relational. Take the example of Viking Engineering and Construction, a minority-owned business in Portland that has worked on many 必威体育官方APP下载 projects over the years, including the $224 million Hyatt Regency at the Oregon Convention Center, completed in 2019.听
Over 10 years, 必威体育官方APP下载鈥檚 Portland office took on a mentor-prot茅g茅 relationship with Viking, according to Lindsay Verdugo, a member of Littlejohn鈥檚 team. 鈥淲e鈥檝e seen Viking grow from a two-person company; now they have over 50 employees,鈥� she said.听
鈥淎nd as we鈥檝e watched Viking grow,鈥� Verdugo continued, 鈥渢heir needs have changed. They鈥檝e been able to approach our leadership team for guidance on how to navigate a growing business.鈥�
Today, Viking is a key 必威体育官方APP下载 partner on the Multnomah County Behavioral Health Resource Center renovation, a roughly $15 million project set to open later this year. 鈥淭hey have a full-time staff person on-site with us,鈥� Verdugo said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e learning the ropes of a larger construction project 鈥� how to run a larger crew.鈥�
In 2022, 必威体育官方APP下载 unveiled a new name for this work: Community Empowerment. According to 必威体育官方APP下载 Senior Vice President Krista Twesme, the rebranding reflects a redoubling of efforts to welcome those from underrepresented populations into the construction industry while 鈥済iving them the skills, the knowledge, the experience to continue in their careers in a way that would be more accelerated than if we hadn鈥檛 come to their community.鈥澨�
The goal is transforming communities through economic inclusion. It means replicating what 必威体育官方APP下载 did with Viking Engineering and Construction. It means building up even more women- and minority-owned partners for long-term excellence and success. As Littlejohn put it: 鈥淚t helps those businesses, but in turn it helps our industry by increasing the pool of vendors and suppliers.鈥�
The whole idea of Community Empowerment is a win-win for everyone. For people working on the project. For the companies they work for. For 必威体育官方APP下载, for our customers, for the community. It really does spiral upward.
Image above: Brian Tibbs - Managing Partner Moody Nolan Architects, Perry Hall - Superintendent Pinnacle Construction Partners, LLC, Aaron Wynn - Project Manager Pinnacle Construction Partners, LLC, Michael Carter - Managing Partner Pinnacle Construction Partners, LLC. Image provided by Michael Carter.
Christy DeSmith is a freelance writer and editor near Boston. She is a former arts editor for the Boston Globe and the Star Tribune in Minneapolis.
Video and photos by Mitchell Jordan