National Underground Railroad Freedom Center (NURFC)

Cincinnati, Ohio

                                         Years: 1996 – 2000 / 2002 – 2004

Provided professional services under the role of Special Project Architect & Quality Control Facilities Manager for a unique building project of national significance that focuses on Slavery and the journeys to freedom.

 

Direct involvement:

• Site selection analysis and investigations; site planning; site logistic planning and coordination involving utility relocations; new riverfront street patterns; new underground bus/transit center security; and terrorist protection measures

 

• Managed the structural redundancy in garage and buildings

 

• Negotiated terms, conditions, and responsibilities matrix for architects and construction management teams

 

• Created/issued the national RFQ for construction management teams

 

• Lead the selection of construction management teams

 

• Managed/directed all technical design reviews

 

• Assessed project construction costs monitored & evaluated project schedules & overall design progress

 

• Conducted periodic construct-ability reviews based on contract deliverables

 

• Participated in collaborating activities for multiple mega-projects, including: Fort Washington Way, Bengals’ stadium, and new garage construction. Participated in monthly coordination meeting with City, County, and State staff/officials; plus 12 different design/engineering/planning consultants.

 

• Orchestrated a historical achievement of minority and female business participation in a major public project: accomplishing 40% for construction and 48% professional services.

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IMPACT by Independent Source (Diversity Business Magazine)

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Growing Minority Businesses: A Community Building Strategy for Cincinnati : by Ananta Dubey

SOUTHPORT, CT –/ -- DiversityBusiness.com /- Today minority-owned businesses are experiencing unprecedented growth. The number of minority-owned businesses in the U.S. increased by 168 per cent in a ten year period to an estimated 3.25 million businesses. Revenues for these businesses grew at an even faster pace during the same time period – an impressive 343 per cent increase–to $495 billion business ventures. Despite of this growth, the share of minority-owned businesses is still not proportional to the size of minority populations.

The unemployment rate among Cincinnati’s African American population has historically been more than double the average unemployment rate of Caucasians. African American men in Cincinnati are three times more likely to be unemployed as white men (U.S. Dept. of Labor)......

.....excerpted The Freedom Center Makes an Impact on the African American Community

The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center (Freedom Center), a museum and a national educational center, was opened in August, 2004 in Downtown Cincinnati. The Economics Center for Education & Research undertook a study in 2004 to analyze the economic impact of the construction and operation of the Freedom Center on Cincinnati’s regional economy.

The study found that the construction of the Freedom Center directly benefited the local African American community through the employment and earnings of African Americans who worked for the Freedom Center and under contracts for construction, exhibits, and related capital items. Of the total direct employment and earnings from cash outlays for the Freedom Center, the African Americans have held 40 percent of the jobs and earned 36 percent of the total pay.

The study found that the local African American community also benefits from the indirect employment that occurs within the local economy as a result of the initial spending. While the indirect impact is not as great, in total, the local African American community has received 27 percent of the jobs and 23 percent of the earnings generated by construction of the Freedom Center. These percentages include both the direct impact of the Freedom Center and the economic multiplier effects from subsequent economic activity.

Comparing these numbers with figures on the overall African American participation in Cincinnati’s local economy, the following table from the impact report shows that the Freedom Center has achieved total rates that are nearly three times the overall averages for the Cincinnati metropolitan area.

African American Share of Employment and Earnings (From construction of the Freedom Center)

 

                                                                                     Employment                       Earnings

Freedom Center construction                                         39.9%                              36.5%

Indirect impact of construction                                       13.6%                               10.9%

Total Construction impact                                               27.1%                               22.8%

Cincinnati MSA average                                                    9.4%                                 7.7%

When all employment and earnings are taken into consideration, the study found that the African American workers’ share of the Freedom Center’s impact is 802 jobs, with earnings totaling $17.4 million.

African American Share of the Economic Impact of the Development of the Freedom Center

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                                                                                     Employment                       Earnings

Percent African American                                                27.1%                              22.8%

African American                                                                 802                         $17,368,879

Total                                                                                   2,960                         $76,263,657

 

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As we have noted "He has always been and continue to be a proven Game Changer"