WEB Ventures, an economic inclusion management team, leads Uptown Consortium’s (UCI) efforts to leverage the economic power of Uptown and the Uptown Innovation Corridor to create lasting opportunities for local residents and minority- and women-owned businesses. UCI’s goal is to expand economic opportunities in all aspects of project development within the Corridor from pre-development through construction, tenant selection, staffing and beyond.
“When you consider every aspect of development in pre-construction, construction, and post-construction, you open up more opportunities for engagement,” said Howard Elliott, partner at WEB Ventures.
This work requires innovative strategies and coordination with other organizations to leverage resources. It’s not just about setting goals—it requires a hands-on, supportive approach.
A large part of WEB’s work includes identifying minority business enterprises (MBE) and women business enterprises (WBE) to bid on project contracts. WEB is building a pipeline of WBE and MBE companies for referral to project owners/developers that may not otherwise have an opportunity to work with each other. These companies may not typically hear about available opportunities, understand how to fully navigate the bid submission process or trust the sincerity of a request to bid. Some companies may not have the required capacity and qualifications at that moment. Since WEB approaches this work with a long-term view, these companies are referred to business support service providers so they can grow and prepare for future opportunities.
In addition to expanding contracting opportunities, WEB connects local Uptown residents with available jobs, screens applicants and, when appropriate, helps them prepare for job interviews or connects them with other organizations for additional support.
UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute
The UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute, a partnership between UC College of Medicine and UC Health, is expected to open in spring 2019. Throughout the construction process, WEB worked with UCI, the University of Cincinnati and UC Health on inclusion initiatives to secure jobs for Uptown residents and contracts for MBEs and WBEs.
As of December 2018, WEB has assisted Messer Construction to exceed the inclusion goals for the project. Jobsite workforce composition, reported in terms of race, gender and zip code, is above the Community Benefit Agreement (CBA) goal of 17 percent. In addition, 43.4 percent of project spend to date has been a result of working with MBEs and WBEs, trending above the UC Health project goal of 40 percent and well above the CBA goal of 31%. In total, WEB Ventures has worked with 62 WBE and MBE subcontractors throughout the construction process.
Much of this success can be attributed to UCI and WEB’s partnership with UC Health. The hospital system embraced the inclusion goals and helped hold their general contractor accountable for reaching
them. Exceptional partnerships like this are critical to achieving true economic inclusion across all development initiatives in Uptown.
BattleAxe Construction
Since WEB started working with BattleAxe, a minority-owned demolition company, in June 2015, WEB has utilized different strategies and opportunities to help BattleAxe grow and identify opportunities for bids.
Initially, WEB connected BattleAxe with UCI to help the company win demolition contracts for residential properties on Hickman Ave and Whitter Ave, expanding to commercial properties such as the demolition of the Marathon gas station in the Uptown Innovation Corridor. The relationship between BattleAxe and UCI has helped the company grow and increase its capacity and capabilities as it seeks other demolition projects.
WEB’s support isn’t restricted to helping MBE’s like BattleAxe win new contracts. WEB Ventures connects owners with other critical professional business support services.
These are just two examples of WEB’s many engagement efforts around development in Uptown and the Corridor. UCI will continue advancing its partnership with WEB to ensure that Uptown residents and minority - and women-owned businesses have contracting, job and investment opportunities in Uptown development projects.