Page 9 - Florida Sentinel 3-10-17

Local
Minority-Owned Contractors Have Been Awarded Roughly $160M Of $1B At Tampa International Airport
BY KENYA WOODARD Sentinel Feature Writer
Tampa International Air- port officials say the airport is on track to exceed its pro- jected spending with women-and-minority-owned firms it’s partnered with on its $1 billion expansion.
With one year remaining until completion, officials es- timate that roughly $160 million was spent with women- and minority- owned businesses. That’s up from the $122.8 million ini- tially projected.
Phase 1 of the expansion includes a new car rental fa- cility and economy garage, new shops and restaurants, and a people mover.
Atty. Elita McMillon,
the airport’s director of Ethics, Diversity and Admin- istration, said the increase is the result of a strong part- nership with lead contractor, Austin Commercial.
The firm – which over- sees project design and con- struction – has been steadfast in helping the air- port bring more women- and-miniority-owned businesses onto the project and reaching out to them, she said.
“It started with the air- port’s commitment and part- nership with companies committed to our goals,” she said. “That’s contributed to our success.”
Nearly two years ago, a study commissioned by the Hillsborough County Avia- tion Authority found that disparities existed in the Au- thority’s utilization of women-and-minority-owned businesses and disadvan- taged business enterprise in non-federally funded con- struction, professional serv- ices, non-professional services, and goods and sup- plies contracting.
As a result of that study, airport officials amended its policies regarding those two groups and implemented new initiatives to improve spending with them, such as vendor rotation, McMillon said.
Of the estimated 400 subcontractors attached to the project, about 144 are women-and-minority-owned firms.
One such company is Denson Construction, which has been awarded almost $2
ATTY. ELITA MCMILLON .....TIA Dir. of Ethics, Diversity and Administration
million in contracts, said owner, Ralph “Pete” Den- son.
Denson said he’s worked steadily with the air- port on a number of projects over the last 15 years.
“They called us to come out there because we do good work,” he said. “Your work is what’s going to keep you in.”
Dan Fernandez, owner of McKenzie Contracting,
Tampa International Airport is undergoing $1 billion in new construction.
said the $1.8 million awarded to his company has allowed him to expand his staff, including two people devoted to managing the contract.
The Tampa project has helped Fernandez land contracts with other airports, he said.
“It opened up some doors for us,” he said. “It made us a status player.”
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