Peoples State Bank has been a great partner and a huge benefit to JCP Construction. We were more than happy to work with them to develop a video highlighting our work with them.
You can read Peoples State Bank’s blog here.
And you can watch the video below:
JCP Construction’s President James Phelps was recently welcomed as a new member of MMAC’s Board of Directors.
In December, MMAC’s membership voted to approve a number of Milwaukee business community leaders as new members of the Board of Directors, including James. JCP Construction is proud to be part of such a great organization and are looking forward to providing additional perspective to move the Greater Milwaukee Area forward.
JCP Construction and CG Schmidt have been retained to build a new mental health emergency center on Milwaukee’s near north side.
This project is a joint venture involving Milwaukee County’s Behavioral Health Division, Advocate Aurora Health, Ascension Wisconsin, Froedtert Health and Children’s Wisconsin. They have entered into a letter of intent for the joint venture, marking a major milestone in a years-long process of redesigning the county’s mental health delivery system.
The partners didn’t disclose the exact location of the emergency center but said in an announcement Thursday it will be developed on a county-owned site on Milwaukee’s near north side, an area that is more accessible to many of the patients who seek county psychiatric crisis services.
Currently, 93% of patient visits to the Psychiatric Crisis Services Center at the Behavioral Health Division’s Mental Health Complex in Wauwatosa originate from the city of Milwaukee, and more than 70% of the PCS patients live in close proximity to the proposed location, the organizations said.
Read the rest of the BizTimes article to get more details.
JCP Construction’s Cory Foucault was recently featured in the Milwaukee Business Journal‘s “People on the Move.”
With over 15 years of commercial, residential, retail and healthcare experience, Cory is responsible for assembling high quality competitive estimates. Cory recently worked on Summerfest’s new NML Family Stage and is a graduate of UW-Steven’s Point.
Jalin Phelps, JCP Constructions Vice President of Field Operations, was recently accepted into Milwaukee’s premier leadership class, Forward 48.
He was unanimously approved by the five person committee to join a highly curated, diverse group of 48 thought leaders in a seven week program with executives who have shaped Milwaukee. Through this program, he will be able to:
More About Forward 48
Forward 48 is a group of passionate Milwaukeeans dedicated to the growth and development of our great city. We find inspiration in Milwaukee’s diverse communities, engaged citizens, natural beauty, and infinite potential. We created Forward 48 knowing that our city’s leaders are committed to equipping tomorrow’s rising talent with the tools and knowledge they’ll need to move Milwaukee ever forward.
JCP Construction lost a long-time friend, mentor and board member with the recent passing of Herb Miller. Miller recently retired from Michels Corporation, where he served as Senior Manager of Supplier Diversity & Business Development.
He served on the JCP Construction board for four years where he is remembered as a pillar of support, wisdom and passion.
“Herb was a friend and incredibly helpful to us over the years,” said Jalin Phelps, Vice President of Field Operations. “He provided amazing industry knowledge, but also concern for us as people. We were lucky to have him work with us and are saddened to hear of his passing. He will be missed.”
Miller will be remembered for his work encouraging diversity within the industry, and providing opportunities for others to move ahead.
Please keep the Miller family in your thoughts and your prayers
JCP Construction and James Phelps were recently featured in the Milwaukee Business Journal as part of their “Small Business Big Mission” series. You can read the article below or on the Milwaukee Business Journal website.
During its early years, limited access to lending slowed JCP Construction LLC’s ability to take on contracts as large as its owners had the know-how to complete.
As a fledgling construction company that started operations in 2009, access to lending translated to how many people JCP Construction could hire on for each job, said president James Phelps. The Milwaukee company needed that lending in order to satisfy worker paychecks in the midst of a construction project, since there is always a lag before it gets repaid by project ownership for work performed.
“We had to be mindful of not what we could do the work of, but what resources we had to be able to fund that growth, mainly through payroll and overhead,” Phelps said. “Knowing we only had a finite amount of cash and a line of credit on hand, it constricted the kinds of projects we were able to pursue.”
The company built new and closer relationships with lenders, which each one translating into more people working and larger projects in which it participated.
A lending relationship with the Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corp. let the company take on larger contracts, including concrete work on the Milwaukee School of Engineering’s Pamela and Hermann Viets Field parking structure and soccer complex in Milwaukee.
Then Phelps met Jeff Musa, market president for Peoples State Bank, at a local political fundraiser. They went to a Milwaukee Bucks game to get to know each other better, and within a month had closed on a new line of credit for JCP Construction.
“It was no different from the conversations we’d be having previously, but it was with someone who wanted to lean in and help with the growth of JCP,” Phelps said.
That line meant JCP Construction could do more contracts on Northwestern Mutual’s downtown office tower, such as interior finish carpentry and waterproofing. Over more than two years, JCP Construction did more than $7 million in contracts for that project.
“It was a shot in the arm where we went from having combined lines of credit between ourselves and WWBIC of about $110,000, and we went to $450,000,” Phelps said.
Proceeds from the work on the Northwestern Mutual tower helped JCP Construction’s owners fund the acquisition and renovation of a building on North Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive for the company’s headquarters. It has since become one of Milwaukee’s premier builders, making the jump to serving as a prime contractor on projects.
“I would say don’t settle,” Phelps said. “Don’t get discouraged even if it’s over a long period of time. Even though you may talk to nine bankers that don’t share your vision, hopefully there’s a tenth one that will be that partner you are looking for.”
Milwaukee World Festival, Inc. and Northwestern Mutual, through its Foundation, recently announced a major capital revitalization project for the Northwestern Mutual Children’s Theater & Playzone, which has been in place at Henry Maier Festival Park since 2006.
JCP Construction is proud to serve as the Construction Manager for the new Northwestern Mutual Community Park construction project.
A premiere destination for families within the region, the new park will continue to be a featured area at Summerfest, as well as cultural and ethnic festivals. In addition, the park will be available to the public during non-event days, encouraging the broader community to access this new amenity throughout the summer.
A guiding priority of the design is to offer inclusive play for children who may experience a variety of challenges. The Northwestern Mutual Community Park aims to be one of the most accessible playgrounds in the entire state of Wisconsin.
Plans include a flexible stage area for community-based, family-focused programming, in addition to an exhibit area, which will be used for interactive children’s activities. The new Northwestern Mutual Community Park will feature all new accessible playground equipment suited for children ages 6 months to 12 years, along with new permanent family restrooms. The project also integrates environmentally conscious design, and intentionally embraces the beautiful lakeside setting, including shaded areas for parents.
Planned features for the park:
For more information and to view renderings, visit https://www.summerfest.com/northwestern-mutual-community-park/.
JCP Construction was recently featured in Milwaukee Commerce – a quarterly magazine produced by the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC). MMAC’s magazine provides in-depth coverage of the top issues facing the metro Milwaukee business community.
JCP’s Clifton and James Phelps sat down with Milwaukee Commerce and discussed the barriers that diverse business owners face in Milwaukee. The article can be found online here: https://issuu.com/carriegossett4/docs/2020_summer_commerce/s/11032043
You can also find the PDF scans of the article here.
The ladies of JCP Construction took part in the #shebuilds virtual event on September 17. This event taught our staff how to build steampunk lamps, while encouraging the empowerment of women throughout the Midwest. Only 9.1% of the construction industry is female so it is important to recognize their importance and to encourage others to get involved with the construction industry. Find out more about this event: http://shebuildschicago.com/
All proceeds from the event benefited youth programs supporting the construction industry in Illinois and Wisconsin. The #shebuilds event allows for money to be raised for tradeswomen so that they can complete apprenticeship as well as pay for tools, coursework and more.
We would like to give a special thanks to Victoria Navarro, Catherine Tojaga, Jenny Han, and Jessica Sherwood for inviting us to participate in the fun event.
