KCI Terminal Project Team Receives National ‘Innovations In Diversity’ Award

Award honors organizations that have developed innovative solutions in workforce diversity, inclusion and human equity

KANSAS CITY, Mo.  Edgemoor Infrastructure & Real Estate and its design-build partner, Clark | Weitz | Clarkson, have received national recognition for keeping diversity, inclusion and human equity at the forefront of the New Terminal Project at KCI. The project leaders have been named by Profiles in Diversity Journal® among this year’s Top 10 Innovations in Diversity for 2020 award winners (Page 71).

When Edgemoor was selected to lead the development of the new $1.5 billion airport terminal at Kansas City International Airport, it promised the project would reach historic and transformative levels of diversity, spurring economic growth for minority and women-owned businesses.

“We are honored to receive this national recognition for rolling out programs that remove barriers typically impacting small, disadvantaged, minority and women-owned businesses from securing contracts to work on projects of this magnitude,” said Geoff Stricker, Edgemoor Senior Managing Director. “Our goal has always been to drive long-term growth and prosperity of diverse businesses in KC.”

The Edgemoor team set goals for Minority-owned Business Enterprise (MBE) and Women-owned Business Enterprise (WBE) participation on the project that, based on capacity in Kansas City, were ambitious and historic: 20-percent MBE and 15-percent WBE participation for both professional and construction services contracts.

The Edgemoor team has added more than 110 MBE and WBE partners to the New Terminal project roster since the start of procurement in 2018 and has awarded $282 million in contracts to these firms of the $950 million of work to be subcontracted on the project. The average MBE and WBE contract sizes for work on the New Terminal range from more than double, to nearly 10 times the size of the average MBE and WBE city contracts in KC. These programs have been transformative for diverse businesses, and will continue to create success, long after the New Terminal project is complete.

Among the programs the Edgemoor Team has implemented on the New Terminal Project at KCI that earned this national recognition include:

Pay Without Delay program to ensure firms are paid within 14 days for their completed work. More than two-thirds of M/WBE firms on the project have enrolled in the program.

Low Interest Loan program to help M/WBE firms acquire equipment and working capital. Since the program’s inception, nearly $7 Million has been loaned to M/WBE firms.

KCI Supplier Support program, which allows M/WBE contractors to leverage CWC’s purchasing power to rent or buy equipment to support their operations on the New Terminal. Edgemoor/CWC has provided access to rentals totaling more than $1.5 Million.  

Executive MBA-style program for M/WBE, veteran-owned and disadvantaged businesses, free of charge, called the Strategic Partnership Program. The six-month program is designed to grow the confidence, capacity and capabilities of small businesses. Since 2018, 84 local small business owners have graduated from the program. Of those, 14 small firms have been awarded contracts to work on the New Terminal project. 15 local firms are currently enrolled in the fourth class.

Thanks to programs offered by Edgemoor and CWC, diverse business owners have built capacity, grown their teams, acquired new capital and developed the knowledge needed to win contracts on large infrastructure projects.

Daniel Felder, co-owner of Axiom Construction has significantly grown his concrete firm’s capacity by working on the New Terminal project. Axiom has secured $2m in working capital and landed two New Terminal contracts totaling more than $14 million. The company’s previous largest contracts totaled $1.2 million. Axiom has renovated its offices and grown its workforce.

“The Edgemoor-CWC team has created a culture of inclusion,” said Felder. “All voices being heard, and all having an opportunity to engage.”

Follow the progress of the New Terminal Project at BuildKCI.com.