Category: News And Awards

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JCP Construction was honored to have Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris visit our headquarters.

She held a roundtable discussion with black leaders and small business owners in Milwaukee at our location. We were proud to have our very own James Phelps (President) participate in the roundtable discussion.

Co-owner and Vice President of Business Development Clifton Phelps said they worked tirelessly to get the place in order for the event. He appreciated the opportunity to meet and talk with Harris.

“She wanted to know about our business. She wanted to know about how she could help, and she wanted to know how we were doing in the pandemic that we’re in now,” Phelps said.

JCP Construction leadership had the opportunity to talk with Harris one-on-one as well as during the roundtable discussion. The main areas of conversation surrounded how COVID-19 had impacted local businesses and then discussing the biggest hurdles that businesses, especially minority owned businesses, need to overcome.

We were able to inform Harris that the COVID-19 pandemic had certainly caused disruption for our business and industry (slowed down projects, lost some work, architects limiting their work due to uncertainty, etc.), but that JCP Construction will overcome these obstacles the same way that we’ve overcome previous obstacles we’ve faced.

When asked about what’s needed for a small business to survive, we brought up access to capital. This is especially true for minority owned businesses. JCP Construction had to fight for a limited line of credit early on and it wasn’t until a minority banker gave us a chance that we were really able to get going.

Harris discussed the Biden-Harris plan and how one of the goals of that plan is to provide capital to small businesses. You can find out more on that plan here. There was also discussion around Community Development Financial Institutions Funds and how they can really help small businesses that more traditional banks don’t want to take a chance on. JCP’s Clifton Phelps has had some experience with the success of CDFI’s through his previous work at the African American Chamber of Commerce. He observed that most of the people that receive these types of loans don’t default.

Overall, there was some great discussion and JCP Construction was honored to host Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris.

Find out more:

• TMJ4
• Fox6
• CBS58

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JCP Construction is looking for leadership in the field. If you are interested in working for us as a foreman, superintendent or construction site manager, please let us know!

Continue to grow your leadership potential and surpass clients’ expectations & deliver quality projects all while being part of our family. We promise to do our best to support you personally and professionally.

Be sure to check out our careers page and the rest of our website. Not all leadership positions we’re looking to fill are posted on the careers page so please don’t hesitate to submit your resume.

If you are interested, you can email your resume to Jalin Phelps at jalin@jcp-construction.com

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Our final participant in our Five Employees, Five Questions blog series is Darrell Mercer. Let’s see what interesting stuff he had to say!

How long have you been with JCP?  I have been with JCP for 3 and a half years.

How long have you been a project manager and what is the best part of it? I have been in construction management for over 25 years with the last 15 or so as a project manager. The job is stressful at times, but the best part is solving the daily problems and dealing with the myriad of different personalities and people (clients, owners, designers, subcontractors and more).

What is the most enjoyable project you’ve worked on? I have been involved in many interesting projects throughout the U.S., Canada and South America, but here at JCP Construction it was the Bader Philanthropies Headquarters. We basically transformed a 100 year old building into a modern, state-of-the-art facility that is a diamond in the rough in the Milwaukee inner city. The owner, designers and JCP had one goal and it was creating a gem!

What do you think future project managers need to know to be the best they can be? Keep learning. Be observant. Techniques and technology are constantly changing.

Tell us something about you that not many people know? I have a signature smile. 😊

We are highlighting five of our employees over several weeks by asking them five different questions. Darryl Dixon is our fourth employee to participate! Let’s see what he has to say.

How long have you been with JCP Construction? I have been a driver with JCP Construction for six years.

How long have you been a driver and what is the best part of that position? I have been a driver for 23 years, working for various companies. This includes a supply warehouse construction company that did rough-in construction. I really enjoy making sure all my craftsmen are stocked up and prepared to do the job that they need to do.

What is the most enjoyable project you have been a part of? Seen built in Milwaukee? There are two projects that I have had the opportunity to be involved with and were incredibly satisfying to be a part of. Those two best projects would be the Northwestern Tower project and the Fiserv Forum project because they both impacted the skyline of downtown Milwaukee.

What do you think those who want to work in the construction field need to know? It is rewarding to see the finished project, but to do that, it takes hard work and dedication.

Tell us something about you that not many people know? I really enjoy cooking. One of my favorite things to cook is soul food and Italian food. I also enjoy baking cakes.

JCP Construction was recently approved as a HUBZone-certified company. HUBZone-certified companies are able to bid on designated  federal government work. The program fuels small business growth in historically underutilized business zones with a goal of awarding at least three percent of federal contract dollars to HUBZone-certified companies each year. Find out more about the HUBZone program on the SBA’s website.

We are excited to add this certification to our business!

On the Level: Protests, Pandemic and Prospects

At helm of JCP, Phelps brothers reflect on recent months and look to future

Although the past few months have not been easy for anyone, they have especially been hard for the leadership team at JCP Construction.

The coronavirus outbreak has brought at least one big disappointment to the three brothers who run the Milwaukee-based contractor – James Phelps, company president; Jalin Phelps, vice president of field operations; and Clifton Phelps, vice president of business development. Their company has been enlisted to help convert the Fiserv Forum, home to the Milwaukee Bucks, into the main venue for the Democratic National Convention. But with big questions now looming about how many people will actually attend the event, the Phelps brothers have had to come to terms with the likelihood that they will have a much smaller role to play.

Meanwhile, the death last month of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer has hit home at the minority-owned JCP Construction, where about 80 percent of the office employees are black. With their commitment to having a diverse workforce, the Phelps brothers are well aware of the artificial barriers that often prevent people of color from getting on job sites.

That dedication extends beyond hiring. JCP Construction’s main office is near the corner of North Reservoir Avenue and North Martin Luther King Drive in Milwaukee. That puts it in the center not only of a historically black neighborhood, but also many of the recent protests against police brutality organized in response to Floyd’s death.

This week they sat down with The Daily Reporter to talk about their recent experiences and hopes for the industry.

Download the PDF of the article to read the full article.

We are highlighting five of our employees over the next few weeks by asking them five different questions. Takeyla Tyson is our third employee to participate! See what she has to say.

How long have you been with JCP Construction ? I have been with JCP for six years. I started as a part-time Office Manager, but I now work as the Job Cost Accountant.

What does an average day for you as a Job Cost Accountant look like? An average day for me comprises of financial meetings, assisting project managers to control job costs, managing the AP/AR and data analysis. I also spend time throughout the week assisting the CFO with other “big picture” financial components. There is a lot of coffee consumed!

What is the most enjoyable project you’ve worked on? My favorite project was the Fiserv Forum. I liked that project because I was able to drive or walk past and look at the work we were doing. It was also the first project where I was more closely involved in the project. I was able to learn more about how JVs work and what it takes to pull off a project of that size.

What is your favorite part of working for JCP Construction? My favorite part is seeing a project being completed as planned (or as close as possible). A lot of hard work goes into the management of the project and when I can be a part of that success, it makes all the long hours worth it.

Tell us something about you that not too many people know? I love Hello Kitty and video games (I have six different game consoles/devices). Hello Kitty speaks to the kid in me and I find that video games help with stress.

We are highlighting five of our employees over the next few weeks by asking them five different questions. James Shircel is our second employee to participate! See what he has to say.

How long have you been with JCP? I was fortunate to be hired by JCP Construction in May of 2019. JCP had impressed me with the company’s ownership, employees and future goals/growth plan.

How long have you been a project manager and what is the best part of it? I have been in project management since 2006. Before that, my title was Senior Engineer with Abbott Laboratories – Diagnostic Division. The best part of project management is the chance to work with ownership, contractors, architects and engineers on a common goal. It is extremely gratifying to start with a conceptual project or design on paper and see it through to realization. Some projects are extremely stressful, but the satisfaction of completion is fulfilling.

What is the most enjoyable project you’ve worked on? Back in the 90’s, when I was much younger, I was fortunate enough to be on the Medisense Project Team. Medisense was a company located in Abington, England. Our team was tasked with building a new $30 million plus manufacturing facility in the nearby town of Witney. It was my first experience working outside of the U.S. and I was exposed to different construction processes, unfamiliar cultures and new building codes. Throughout the two year project I had the chance to occasionally travel through areas of England. I even had one relative still living in Southern England and so I had the chance to visit him.

What do you think future project managers need to know to be the best they can be? Continue to educate yourself! Continued education (additional schooling, seminars or specialty classes) is the key to success. With the constant changes in new technology and materials it is essential to stay on top of the game.

Tell us something about you that not many people know? Other than my high school classmates, not many people know that I was pretty small my freshman year and I was on the gymnastics team. I actually started gymnastic classes at the age of 6. Now at 6’4” most people I meet ask if I was in basketball or football back in the day. It is hard to explain that I was only 5’4” as a freshman.

 

Starting a small business can be difficult for anyone, but minority communities have an even larger struggle.

“The reality really presents itself relative to banking and securing loans with regards to such things on the mortgage side as redlining,” Ossie Kendrix, President & CEO of the African American Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin said. “Those are some similar mechanisms that have been utilized when African Americans go to traditional banks to secure a business loan.”

“Am I proud to be part of the 13 percent? Yeah,” Clifton Phelps with JCP Construction said. “But at the same time, I’m ashamed it’s not 30 percent.”
Phelps and his brothers started their construction company from their parents’ home 12 years ago. They said they faced many issues of systemic racism in trying to get started.

“Access to capital is a real issue,” Phelps said. “Outside of taking care of your personal credit, you have to have assets. You have to have people put faith in you to give you money. Then, you’re taking a high interest loan to get started and in addition to those high interest loans, that back office is so important.”

For others, getting started meant relying on the money in their pocket.

Read the full article and watch the video here.

Milwaukee business leaders discuss how region can address racial disparities

Leaders say more opportunity needed for black professionals, businesses

In the midst of nationwide protests and civil unrest over long-standing racial injustices, some business leaders in Milwaukee Tuesday discussed how the community can work to overcome these issues.

The discussion was part of a webinar put on Tuesday by the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce. It was held as groups in Milwaukee and elsewhere protest the recent death of George Floyd, who was killed by a Minneapolis police officer.

Nicole Robbins, executive director of Dr. Martin Luther King Economic Development Corp., said Floyd’s death was one instance of racism that reaches back centuries.

“It’s been heartbreaking and disheartening that we are in 2020 and still having the same issues that really have gone back to over 400 years,” Robbins said. ” … It’s just a very difficult time for me personally and also as an organization, but we’re working together to try to impact as much change as possible right now.”

Floyd, a black man in Minneapolis, was killed last week when a police officer kneeled on the back of his neck for several minutes. Protesters have spoken out on not only against his death but racism in all forms.

Racial disparities exist in the business world, including in Milwaukee. An MMAC study found metro Milwaukee ranks last among 20 of its peer cities when it comes to the prosperity gap between both African American and white residents and Hispanic and white residents

Kevin Newell, president and chief executive officer of Royal Capital Group LLC, said perhaps the biggest barrier black-owned businesses face is access to capital. It is hard for businesses to forecast three to 12 months out without a reserve line of credit, he said.

“Everything else I think is secondary to that,” Newell said. “I would think that access to capital at an affordable rate is the biggest challenge, particularly this community, faces.”

Clifton Phelps, co-owner and vice president of business development for JCP Construction, said another challenge business owners need to overcome is breaking into what he called the “Good Ole Boy” network, or getting in front of the right people to increase their customer base.

“There’s a lot of deals being done in Milwaukee where we’re not at the table,” he said.

Businesses can help lift up black workers and businesses in a number of ways, the MMAC webinar panelists said.

Read the rest of the article here.

You can also view the recording of the webinar below: