Bader Philanthropies selects minority firm

Contractor will work on global HQ

Once again, Bader Philanthropies Inc. is betting on Milwaukee.

On Friday, the foundation will announce the hiring of JCP Construction, a local, minority-owned firm, to be the general contractor of its global headquarters in the city’s Harambee neighborhood.

“We really want to make sure we live the mission of the foundation,” said Daniel J. Bader, president and CEO of Bader Philanthropies. “Part of the foundation’s mission is in workforce development and employment.

“As we have people develop the new facility, we want to make sure they mostly come from Milwaukee, represent our community and the neighborhoods,” he added.

JCP Construction was founded in 2008 by brothers James, Jalin and Clifton Phelps. They grew up in the Harambee neighborhood around a mile from where they’ll be working on the Bader project at 3318 N. King Drive.

The two-story headquarters will consist of a renovated historic building with a newly built addition.

“It is great to be rehabbing and to be part of the repurpos- ing of this property we drove by on numerous occasions as kids and adults,” James Phelps said.

This will be the firm’s largest project. JCP is a fast-growing firm that has worked on the Milwaukee Bucks’ new downtown arena and the Northwestern Mutual Tower and Commons.

Bader said the aim is to get as many minority and womenowned subcontractors as possible on the project. Phelps said the work will enable firms and laborers to showcase their skills. Up to 100 people will be employed during construction, Phelps said.

The Bader family is paying for the new headquarters, which is budgeted for $9.5 mil- lion.

Construction is scheduled to begin in late March with a planned opening in the summer of 2018. Until then, Bader Philanthropies will continue to operate from its leased headquarters at 233 N. Water St. in the Historic Third Ward.

Bader Philanthropies is comprised of the Helen Daniels Bader Fund and the Isabel and Alfred Bader Fund and focuses on areas that include workforce development, youth development, Alzheimer’s disease and aging. Since 1992, the foundation has provided more than 6,000 grants totaling more than $265 million to nonprofits in the greater Milwaukee area, Wisconsin and 10 different countries.