Category: News And Awards

James Phelps, President of JCP Construction, was recently featured in BizTimes as a Notable Minority Executive.

Notable Minority Executives: James Phelps

President, JCP Construction

“James Phelps, along with brothers Clifton and Jalen, started Milwaukee-based JCP Construction in 2008 after seeing a market need amid the Great Recession.

Its primary focus had been multi-family home renovations but has since matured into a commercial construction company providing a wide range of services for construction, general contracting and construction management.

Phelps leads JCP’s construction and business development team, and provides senior oversight for the project team to ensure that cost, schedule and quality commitments are met.”

Read full article

JCP Construction was recently featured in this video and news segment about President Biden’s visit to Milwaukee.

It was exciting to be part of this video, but we are hoping for a better economic climate and looking forward to the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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.

Read the MMAC announcement

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.

Read the article

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:

• Receive live instruction and direct engagement with the city’s top business and community leaders
• Advance his leadership skills and utilize toolkits to spur economic growth and civic impact
• Gain access to an extensive network of mentors and other trusted thought-leaders in Milwaukee

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.

PERSISTENCE PAYS OFF FOR CONTRACTOR

Construction firm works for years to find lender that will allow them to grow firm

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.”

See the article on Milwaukee Business Journal