HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — In East Tampa, the City of Tampa’s massive new government complex is quickly taking shape.
At the site of a former warehouse on East Hanna Avenue, the sprawling new complex will be the future home of six city departments.
On East Hanna Avenue, the City of Tampa is using $108 million in taxpayer funding to construct the new “City Center,” a complex that will eventually house about half a dozen city departments and offer city residents a more centralized location for various city services.
The sprawling space will also include a public square, community meeting rooms, and places for bikes and scooters.
DPR Construction was selected by the city to construct the project, but DPR and the city came under fire in early 2022.
Community leaders, activists, contractors, and even members of Tampa City Council questioned how the mayor’s office awarded the construction contract to DPR Construction, which broke ground on the project in January.
Some of them expressed worry the city may not have followed the rules and guidelines for awarding such a construction contract. Some pointed out that — after an agreement was made with DPR Construction in 2015 — the scope of the project grew exponentially from roughly $10 million to the $108 million price tag.
Additionally, activists like James Ransom, with the Tampa Organization of Black Affairs, grew concerned about diversity, equity, and inclusion as construction on the project began.
Ransom argued the project should employ more minority workers and minority-owned businesses.
“This project was on the brink of derailment,” Ransom explained. “Equity is really important. You know, diversity and inclusion are important. Equity is also important.”
Brian Yarborough, the Business Unit Leader for DPR Construction, said the city and his company listened and set a goal in Feb. 2022: 20% participation in the project for African-American-owned businesses.
“We certainly aren’t afraid of the accountability,” Yarborough said.
Roughly a year later, Yarborough says DPR Construction has delivered on half of the goal.
It has employed 22% of African-American-owned businesses at the Hanna Ave. job site.
“What we’ve done from a diversity, equity, and inclusion standpoint is truly unprecedented,” he said. “We are extremely proud of what we have accomplished to date with the Hanna Avenue project.”
According to Yarborough, DPR Construction employed Black-owned DuCon Construction for work on the project’s fleet and facilities building.
Black-owned Strategist Project Support Services is overseeing the City Center’s parking garage.
Yarborough said DPR also challenged those companies to employ Black-owned “trade partners,” like electricians, plumbers, and drywall companies.
Yarborough said the work to be more inclusive has not stopped there.
“It’s looking for all those kinds of micro-opportunities that present themselves that might not be thought of when you consider a construction project,” he said. “Whether it’s a catering company for a job site luncheon or some job site photography, I think, you know, no amount of participation is too small.”
DPR Construction will host a job fair Friday. While it’s seeking candidates of all colors and backgrounds, it hopes to use the event to make the job site on Hanna Ave. and others even more diverse.
In Feb. 2022, DPR Construction and the City of Tampa also set a goal of 15% participation in the City Center project for small, local businesses. Yarborough said achieving that goal is still a work in progress.
Ransom, however, is pleased that DPR and the City of Tampa have achieved the goal to involve more African-American-owned businesses in the project.
While Ransom said he won’t yet celebrate the milestone, he is encouraged by it.
Ultimately, he hopes that the goal set and achieved in the City Center Project will become the standard in other projects and that future course correction will not be necessary.
“That helps the whole community when everybody is prospering,” he said. “Population in Tampa is 24% Black, 25% Hispanic — it should just be in the DNA of all of the organizations here that this is what we do.”
“I think that we learn from these experiences and grow, and the key is, as long as we talk about it and work through it, we’re going to be a better city for it,” Ransom continued. “If we can get to a point where we can talk about success because we see and we don’t have to come back and have a chat about it, that’s a better place to be.”
As for DPR Construction, Yarborough says the company has definitely learned valuable lessons from the process of making the City Center job site more inclusive.
“1,000%,” he said without hesitation. “We’re all going to be better for it at the end of this.”
Additionally, the city says its Equal Business Opportunity office has recruited 151 new companies in the last year who applied for the certification necessary to do business with the City of Tampa as a small and/or minority-owned business.
According to the city, it’s looking for more to apply for that certification.
You can learn more, click here.
