Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service

Your neighborhood. Your News.

Milwaukee NNSnewsMilwaukee NNSSearch
Subscribe to NNS today!
Advertisement
  • Home
  • News
    • Arts and Recreation
    • Community
    • Economic Development
    • Education
    • Health and Wellness
    • Housing
    • Public Safety
    • NNS Spotlight
    • Special Report
  • Posts From Community
    • Submit a Story
  • Community Voices
  • How To
  • Multimedia
    • NNS Local Video
    • Photos
    • NNS on Lake Effect
    • NNS WGLB 1560 Radio
  • Subscribe
  • Donate
  • About
    • Staff
    • Partners
    • News 414
    • The neighborhoods we cover
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service

Diederich College of Communication, Marquette University


Language: English English Spanish Spanish

You are here: Home / Home / Carousel / Black-owned construction company JCP tapped to lead Bader headquarters project

Black-owned construction company JCP tapped to lead Bader headquarters project

January 31, 2017 by Edgar Mendez Leave a Comment

Share this...
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin

Rendering of Bader Philanthropies International Headquarters. (Photo courtesy of Uihlein Wilson Architects, Inc.)

JCP Construction President James Phelps, who co-founded the company with his brothers Clifton and Jalin Phelps in 2008, remembers admiring the neoclassical building at the corner of North King Drive and West Concordia Avenue in Harambee when they would stroll by as children.

Now, the brothers will help transform the building, located at 3318 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, into the new global headquarters for Bader Philanthropies Inc., the Milwaukee-based organization that has committed more than $265 million in funding to initiatives that improve the quality of life in Milwaukee and other areas since its founding in 1992. JCP Construction has been chosen as general contractor for the $9.5 million construction project.

“It’s so rewarding to have seen this building since I was a kid and now have the opportunity to turn it into Bader headquarters, which will help them fulfill their mission of making Harambee and other local neighborhoods greater,” Phelps said.

James Phelps, president of JCP Construction. (Photo courtesy of Bader Philanthropies)

It’s the biggest project to date for JCP, which subcontracted on several high-profile projects including the new Milwaukee Bucks arena, the Commons and Northwestern Mutual Tower. For Phelps, JCP’s selection to lead the project is evidence of the capacity within the minority community and workforce. “Those are just excuses being given as far as those who say that there aren’t enough capable minority-owned companies to take on large projects,” Phelps added.

JCP has also set an internal goal of beating standard minority participation rates on the project.

Thelma Sias, former We Energies vice president, said she’s seen firsthand that when people are given the opportunity, great things happen. “As other parts of Milwaukee are looking, seeking and wanting growth and development, the same is true for our community — and we have the talent to deliver that right here in the central city,” Sias said.

In August 2016 Bader announced that it would be relocating its new headquarters to Harambee and doubled down by also announcing that it would work with as many minority-owned businesses as possible and hire minority skilled and unskilled workers to build the new headquarters.

“We made a decision as a foundation within the context of living our mission that we will choose a minority company in just about every aspect of this project,” said Frank Cumberbatch, project manager at Bader Philanthropies. Daniel J. Bader, president and CEO of Bader Philanthropies, said JCP was chosen as general contractor because of its experience in producing quality work and because it continues his organization’s decades-long mission of improving the quality of life in the city.

“We hope this experience helps JCP take its business to the next level and positions it for more competitive projects in the future, Bader added.

The new headquarters, located on an acre of land, will feature ample parking for visitors, conference rooms on the first floor and office space for Bader employees on the second. Construction should be complete by summer 2018, according to Cumberbatch.

More importantly though, the new headquarters will be located in a community in which many Bader grantees live and work, he added.

“The longer-term goal is that we hope others will share our confidence in the community and either look at opportunities in those neighborhoods or continue to develop the companies and workforce and in the city,” Cumberbatch said.

Share this...
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin

Filed Under: Carousel, Community, Economic Development, Harambee, Home, Neighborhoods, News, North

About Edgar Mendez

Facebook |  Twitter | More stories from Edgar

Edgar is a senior staff reporter for the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service. Mendez is a proud graduate of UW-Milwaukee, where he double majored in Journalism and Sociology, and of Marquette University, where he earned a master’s degree in Communication. As an accomplished journalist, Edgar’s awards include a 2018 Regional Edward R. Murrow award, several press club awards and a Society of Professional Journalists’ regional award for columns dealing with issues such as poverty, homelessness and racism.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement

Recent News

If you weren’t eligible for rental assistance before, you may be now

Inside the NNS Newsroom: We are hiring a reporter

Where you can find free or discounted school supplies (and how you can help others)

Advertisement
Give today to support our mission. Donate to Milwaukee NNS.
Advertisement

News

  • Arts and Recreation
  • Economic Development
  • Education
  • Health and Wellness
  • Housing
  • Public Safety
  • NNS Spotlight
  • Special Reports

Engage with us

  • Posts from Community
  • Community Voices
  • Submit a Story

About NNS

  • Staff
  • Partners
  • News414
  • The neighborhoods we cover
  • Careers
  • Terms of use
  • Advertise

Connect with us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS feed

Communities

Contact

mailing address
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Diederich College of Communication
Marquette University
1131 W. Wisconsin Ave.
Johnston Hall 430
Milwaukee, WI 53233

email
info@milwaukeenns.org

phone & fax
PHONE: 414.604.6397 FAX: 414.288.6494


Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service is a project of Diederich College of Communication and Marquette University.
© 2020 Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service. Terms of use.
1131 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee WI 53233 • info@milwaukeenns.org

Copyright © 2022 · News Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in