Minority Business Friendly
Prince George’s County Offers Small Minority Businesses A Chance To Grow
By Kia Lisby
Prince George’s County Council Member At-Large Mel Franklin hosted a virtual business networking session Mar. 24 with the inclusion of other various members and organizations within the county, to hold a briefing on several active and future, major development projects in Prince George’s.
Councilmember Mel Franklin
The Office of Central Services Director Jonathan Butler discussed efforts made to help the county’s small businesses.
“We committed about $100 million to small minority businesses in the construction arena,” Butler said. “I’m proud to say that some 18 months later we have probably spent close to about $80 to $90 million in CIP (Capital Improvement Program) projects with Prince George’s certified small minority businesses.”
An upcoming opportunity includes a new Health and Humans Services Building which will house the health department and many human service agencies. Butler said, “where the opportunity comes in for you, our small minority businesses here in Prince George’s County, is the significant fit-out that’s going to be required for this 115,000 square foot building.” This opportunity will offer $10 to $14 million in fit-out in interior construction.
Other future county construction opportunities include a new forensic and DNA lab, minor on-call construction projects and a possible multicultural center.
There are also opportunities for appraisal services to assist in the marketing and monetization of land and for vacant lot management.
Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission Corporate Procurement Manager for Construction Brad Richmond discussed opportunities with MNCPPC saying there’s a “diverse array of construction projects including community centers, playgrounds, trail construction, aquatics centers, parks, fields, etc [that are in the pipeline of possibilities].”
Jonathan Butler
“There are all different kinds of opportunities, whether you’re a small contractor or mid-tier contractor or some of our large design-build firms,” he said.
Richmond encouraged contractors to attend pre-bid and preproposal conferences because they’re the best platform to get clarity into a project. This method provides a great opportunity for the smaller contractors to be able to network with larger general contractors and our larger design-build firms. He also encouraged contract seekers to ask questions upfront, especially during the solicitation process.
Other opportunities the county is offering to small businesses include:
* Painting Contracts
* Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) construction and procurement opportunities
* Westphalia Town Center construction opportunities
* Real Estate
