With two more rounds of contracts awarded for work on the new Penguins Arena in the last three weeks, the Sports and Exhibition Authority continues to post solid minority participation numbers for several construction trades.
Highlighting this effort is its most recent contract for the new building’s HVAC systems. It was awarded to a joint venture between McKamish Inc. of Pittsburgh and Professional Mechanical Sales and Service (Pro Mech), a Black-owned firm in Cheswick. The contract is worth $34.8 million, with $11.1 million going to Pro Mech. The contract also included $1.7 million to Bonder Technical Services, a woman-owned business enterprise.
“This is the largest MBE contract we’ve issued to date on the arena,” said authority contracting consultant Clarence Curry. “So we’re pretty proud of that.”
Pittsburgh Regional Minority Purchasing Council President Alexander “Nick” Nichols said he was elated for Pro Mech owner Stan Loper.
“That’s awesome,” Nichols said. “Stan’s been fighting the battle out there for seven or eight years now. I’m really happy for him.”
Pro Mech has an established list of clients that includes Wal-Mart, the University of Pittsburgh and Shop-N-Save. The firm has also previously worked on the SEA-owned David L. Lawrence Convention Center. Loper said although he is extremely grateful to the SEA and David McKamish for his willingness to partner with Pro Mech, he won’t know how good a deal it is until it’s over and he sees how much money the firm made.
“It is a big contract,” Loper said. “We’ll be working with McKamish doing the HVAC and plumbing. And because it’s a large project, it’s a good chance for us to grow. As a minority firm in Pittsburgh, you have to work every day to find opportunities—and I’m very appreciative of this opportunity.”
The earlier package of contracts issued by the SEA Aug. 7 included a $2.1 million contract to Philadelphia-based MBE Crystal Metal Products for the building’s staircases and handrails. A $27.9 million electrical contract given to Lighthouse Electric included $6.9 million to Homestead-based MBE Union Electric to install high voltage equipment and another $1.8 million contract to WBE Keegan Electric to install generators.
Contracts issued to Cast and Baker for site utilities and to Mascaro for foundation concrete included subcontracts for MBEs Cooper Trading and Latimore Trucking, with Cooper receiving just over $1 million for concrete and supplies, and Latimore receiving $223,000. E.J. Construction also received a $650,000 subcontract to supply and install rebar.
Of the $126.1 million in arena contracts issued to date, $32 million, or 25.4 percent, has gone to MBEs. Another $5.9 million has gone to WBEs.
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