Category: News And Awards

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

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:

• Enhanced Play Equipment: All new age-appropriate playground equipment will serve toddlers, preschool-age through school age-children. Interactive musical play will also be incorporated throughout the playground.  The play area will include soft surface flooring for safer play, shaded seating area for parents, and be defined by a perimeter fence.
• Flexible Stage: Area will feature a new, permanent stage structure with accessible seating, and a viewing area for over 500 patrons. The performance stage will be elevated, covered, and wheelchair accessible.
• Family Services Building: Addressing the specific needs of families, a new 1,800 square foot, air- conditioned family services building will be fully accessible, and feature the following:
  • Permanent Family Restrooms: Accessible restrooms will be equipped with changing tables for babies, children, and adults requiring an assistant.
  • Nursing Mothers Stations: Mothers seeking a quiet space to nurse will have dedicated space for that purpose.
  • Sensory Rooms: There will be three individual and wheelchair accessible, air-conditioned quiet rooms, creating a calm environment for children that may be overstimulated by the noise, environment, or experience.
• Accessibility: A guiding priority of the design is to offer inclusive play for children who may experience a variety of challenges.
• Toddler Play Area: The former stage will be converted to a covered play area for toddlers, including shade, and age appropriate activities and equipment.
• Flexible Programming Space: Over 4,000 square feet will be devoted to flexible programming spaces, which will allow local organizations and non-profit partners to provide interactive programming, on a rotational basis.
• Community Engagement: The entertainment presented, as well as the interactive exhibits, will feature various programming produced by Milwaukee-based organizations, representing multiple perspectives.
• Environmentally Conscious Design: The project actively integrates environmentally conscious design, including storm water management; recycled content on playground surface and equipment, and steel structures; LED lighting, and low-energy consumption fixtures; low-flow Zurn bathroom fixtures, and locally sourced products and materials.

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.

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!