KCI project reaches ‘milestone’ in contracting women, minority-owned businesses
More than $220 million in contracts have been awarded to minority- and women-owned businesses on the new terminal project at Kansas City International Airport, officials announced Tuesday.
“I’m proud to announce today that we have achieved a significant milestone,” said Geoff Stricker, senior managing director of Edgemoor Infrastructure & Real Estate, during a press conference at KCI Tuesday morning. “We’ve added more than 100 minority- and women-owned businesses working on the project to build KCI. We are 100 strong and still growing.”
Edgemoor, the terminal’s developer, has pledged that a combined 35% of the construction work would go to subcontractors owned by minorities and women.
“Three years ago when we were selected for this project to build the new terminal at Kansas City airport, we made a commitment to all of Kansas City that this project would be transformational for the city, especially for the minority and women-owned businesses,” Stricker said. “Our team set significantly high goals for minority and women business participation and we are on track to meet those goals.”
The project has been plagued by skepticism from some City Council members and community leaders who say the developers are not granting enough work to subcontractors owned by minorities and women.
Most recently, the council voted in early August to reject bids for concrete work, saying the winning bidder, ESCO Construction of Colorado, didn’t have enough minority- and women-owned subcontractors on its team. Ideker Inc. of St. Joseph ultimately won the $70 million contract. Then last month, ESCO asked the Federal Aviation Administration to investigate.
‘KCI project as a template’
Mayor Quinton Lucas said the goal for the $1.5 billion project from day one was was to be “transformative.”
“Transformative didn’t just mean a new airport terminal that would be world class, unique, one of the greatest in our country,” Lucas said. “But also transformative in how we support businesses, how we support women- and minority-owned businesses and frankly how we support women and minorities and so many folks that are trying to get good solid outstanding work like you can see on this airport project.”
He said what Kansas City was seeing today was “promises kept.”
“We will look to the KCI project as a template not just for Kansas City and the region, but I think nationally for how you can build an outstanding project, how you can be inclusive and frankly how Kansas City gets things done,” Lucas said.
Edgemoor said additional construction contracts, totaling nearly $50 million, are pending. Approximately $60 million of the work on the project remains to be awarded. In total, the project includes $950 million of subcontracted work.
Edgemoor put a variety of programs in place to remove barriers that typically put small, minority- and women-owned businesses at a disadvantage to securing contracts on projects of this size, Stricker said. Edgmoor and general contractor Clark Weitz Clarkson set up a program where firms are paid within 14 days for their completed work.
Edgemoor has also worked with a Lead Bank to provide low interest loans to help those firms acquire equipment and working capital. Since the program’s inception, more than $4 million has been loaned out to minority- and women-owned firms.
The Edgemoor team also offers an executive MBA-style program for minority-, women-, veteran-owned and disadvantage businesses free of charge. In three classes that have graduated so far, 84 local businesses have been represented, including 12 that have been awarded contracts to work on the new terminal project. The fourth class began in September with 18 local firms on the roster.
“My team is thrilled to play a roll in such a significant project in our city’s history,” said Fahteema Parrish, president and owner of Parrish & Sons Construction, an excavating and grading company. Her company is leading the demolition and removal of miles of driveway and surface parking lots at KCI.
“It is an honor to be one of more than 100 strong Kansas City small businesses helping make the terminal take flight,” she said. “Onward and upward.”
This story was originally published October 6, 2020 at 4:26 PM.
