PRESS RELEASE from Democratic National Convention Committee

For Immediate Release
October 25, 2011

Contact: Kristie Greco, Joanne Peters

Democratic National Convention Committee Awards Construction Manager, Event Architect, and Exposition and Event Services Provider Contracts

The Democratic National Convention Committee today announced the recipients of the 2012 Democratic National Convention construction manager, event architect, and exposition and event services provider contracts.

The contracts were awarded to a partnership of firms that include locally based firms, firms with strong ties to Charlotte and North Carolina, and firms that have a strong record of working with women, minority and disability-owned and union labor.  Additionally, the firms share a commitment to sustainability.

The construction manager will be a partnership between Rodgers Builders, Inc., Hunt Construction Group and H.J. Russell and Company.  The event architect contract will be a partnership between Populous and Neighboring Concepts.  The construction manager awardees bid as a team and the event architect awardees bid as a team.  The exposition and event services provider will be Hargrove, Inc.

“The firms chosen represent the best of the Carolinas and the diversity of America.  The resources and experience of the national firms, partnered with the knowledge and network of local firms makes this team uniquely prepared for a project of this scope and magnitude,” said DNCC Chief Executive Officer Steve Kerrigan.

“We are another step closer to next September, when we will get to show the rest of the country, and the world, what Charlotte, our state, and our larger region, can do.  Today, we see tangible evidence that our efforts to involve local businesses in the Convention are bearing fruit.” said Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx.

The construction manager will oversee the temporary modification and the restoration of the arena following the convention.  The construction manager will serve as a lead agency and will manage its subcontractors and subconsultants, and the event architect.  The event architect will be responsible for various architectural and design planning needs of the convention and design a world-class convention venue.   The exposition and event services provider will handle project management, event scheduling, design and décor, as well as provide rentals and furnishings to staff and members of the media using the Charlotte Convention Center during convention week.

There will be numerous subcontracting opportunities.  The DNCC and Committee for Charlotte 2012 will conduct extensive outreach to local business to apprise them of these opportunities.  A general information meeting is scheduled for November 21, in Charlotte.  It is the DNCC’s goal to use local firms for subcontracts to the fullest extent possible.

Subcontracting bids for this project will be issued through the vendor directory which can be found at www.charlottein2012.com.

In September, the DNCC released a request for proposal for the positions.  The DNCC sought the most dynamic, diverse and innovative firms.  The process was open to all firms or teams who believed they had the necessary qualifications and capacity to build a world-class convention center.

The DNCC evaluated the proposals based on numerous criteria, including, but not limited to: experience, reliability, relationships to Charlotte, North Carolina, and the surrounding region, participation of union labor, women, minorities and persons with disabilities, and local resources to support the endeavor.

Firms Awarded the Construction Manager, Event Architect and Exposition and Event Services Provider Contracts

Construction Management Team:

Rodgers Builders, Inc.  is headquartered in Charlotte and founded on principles of strong leadership, ethical business practices and uncompromising standards of safety and quality, Rodgers is recognized as one of the top contractors in the nation. Rodgers’ client base includes many Fortune 100 companies and the majority of its clients are based in Charlotte.  Rodgers also has offices in Raleigh and Greenville, S.C..

Hunt Construction Group has completed projects throughout North Carolina, including the construction of the Time Warner Cable Arena. Established in 1944 in Indianapolis, Indiana and with more than 650 employees nationwide, Hunt Construction Group today currently maintains a contract volume of between $6 billion and $8 billion of work, and is ranked 27th in the Top400 Contractors list by Engineering News-Record. Hunt continues to provide the latest services to its clients with a strong emphasis in Green Building and Building Information Modeling (BIM).

H.J. Russell and Company is headquartered in Atlanta with a North Carolina office in Durham.  The company has done work across North Carolina.  Russell is the fourth largest minority-owned business in the United States and the nation’s single largest MBE construction firm. Today, H.J. Russell & Company has had a hand in construction and renovation of some of the most well-known structures in the South and Southeast, including the Georgia Dome, Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Stadium, Philips Atlanta Arena, Charlotte’s Harvey B. Gantt Center for African American Arts + Culture, and others.

Event Architect Team:

Populous worked on the 2008 and 1996 Democratic National Conventions.  The Populous’ event portfolio also includes 27 NFL Super Bowls, 10 Summer and Winter Olympic Games and numerous other major sporting events.  The Populous team will be led by Senior Associate Lisa Opper, a female architect who oversaw and led the 2008 DNC project from inception to final close out.

Neighboring Concepts is a unique and inventive, 100% minority owned design firm that has emerged as a leader in the architectural field by delivering elegant, sustainable solutions to the unique challenges of urban environments. Since the firm’s inception here in Charlotte, NC in 1996, Neighboring Concepts has served the Charlotte community with a passion for community revitalization and design excellence. Recent projects and collaborative efforts include the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African American Arts and Culture, the Revolution Park Sports Academy and the planning and design of the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) LYNX Blue Line.

Exposition and Event Services Provider:

Hargrove, Inc. is a certified woman-owned business and one of the top general services contractors in the United States. A family-owned company, Hargrove is focused on providing superb service to the more than 1,000 tradeshows, event and exhibit clients it serves annually. Hargrove is partnering with Charlotte-based HUB-certified McFarland Corbitt on minority business enterprise outreach to support this project.  Hargrove has produced many trade shows, events and exhibits in the Carolinas, Virginia and surrounding region, including at the Charlotte Convention Center. Its history in the region includes work with many regionally based corporations, government entities, business associations, academic institutions, labor organizations and military institutions.

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