By Karen Stokes
Clifton Phelps, JCP Construction and Mayor Tom Barrett announcing JCP Construction selected as general contractor for the DNC.
Milwaukee based, African American owned, JCP Construction was selected as the general contractor that will oversee a build-out of the Fiserv Forum and other venues for the Democratic National Convention this summer.
JCP Construction, LLC was established in 2008 by brothers James, Jalin and Clifton Phelps. The company originally focused on multi-family home renovations and matured within just 10 years, evolving into a commercial and large residential construction company.
Mayor Tom Barrett explained “They were chosen because of their track record; they are very respected. It’s fair to say when making a decision like this the DNC wants to make sure that it’s going to be done well. JCP is going to build the national stage, literally as well as many other changes within the arena and it’s going to need to be done in a compressed time period.”
“We’re very excited about it and we’ve known about it for a couple of weeks. The opportunity is great. It’s an opportunity to grow our workforce. It’s an opportunity for our construction company to step out onto the and build something on the National stage,” said Clifton Phelps. “We have a great track record with Northwestern Mutual, the Bucks, Bader and Pete’s Food Market all of the jobs came with their own challenges.”
To add some drama, there is a narrow window to complete the project in time. There is a good possibility that the Bucks will play in the NBA finals and then three weeks later, July 13-16 is the convention which would allow even less time for construction in the Fiserv Forum.
“Those are the type of problems I want to have if you’re telling me the Bucks are going to the NBA Finals and three weeks later, we’re having a national political convention, we’ll figure it out,” Barrett said.
There are still opportunities to have your business involved with the convention. There is still time.
“If people want to get involved they should be talking to Nikki Purvis from the city or Lafayette Crump and Jim Milner from the host committee,” Barrett said. “These are the people who are working along with the vendor team that can make sure that the opportunities are there.”
Jodie Tabak, director of communications and public engagement said that the JCP Construction contract is a significant contract and they’re spending a concerted effort to engage smaller businesses in the neighborhoods and that could be anything from purchasing office supplies to hosting guests for a reception.
Millions of dollars will be allocated for vendors in minority communities. Congresswoman Gwen Moore, the mayor and others rallied to make sure that local businesses benefited from the convention.
Vendors can visit the official convention portal to find information about vendor and partnership opportunities.
Any supplier interested in doing business with the Milwaukee 2020 Host Committee or the Democratic National Convention can register through the Milwaukee DNC 2020 Portal.
For more information or to register your business go to: www.milwaukee2020.com