There is a beautiful new lady in town sporting a striking tiara. As the exterior of the Great American Tower at Queen City Square nears completion, this fabulous new building gracefully takes her place in the Cincinnati skyline. As impressive as the structure is, the economic inclusion numbers for the base building have been tabulated and they are just as impressive.

James A. Johnson - ProjDev Superintendent From the very beginning of the project, the collaborative effort of the project team to be inclusive of minority-owned, womenowned and small businesses had two specific goals: to support the development of solid contractor/subcontractor relationships in delivering successful project execution and to build the capacity of minority-owned, women owned and small businesses. The Queen City Square project team includes representatives from Eagle Realty Group, The Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority, Turner Construction Company, Ellington Management Services and Quest Management Consulting.

Great American Tower at Queen City Square “The project team is proud of the results of the economic inclusion program,” said Mario San Marco, president of Eagle. “It reflects a desire by Eagle and Western & Southern Financial Group to increase diversity within the construction industry and to help our local community grow and prosper.”

The inclusion efforts reflect the success of the project and, just as importantly, have increased the capacity of local minorityowned, women-owned and small businesses. The details of the inclusion outcomes as of July 2010 include: To date, overall project spending has totaled approximately $192 million for the base building construction. Of that total more than $60 million or 31 percent has been spent with minority-owned, women-owned and small businesses.

Tom Gries, Turner Construction Company, manager of purchasing said, “I am particularly encouraged by the multitude of relationships that have developed between the larger prime contractors and various minority, women, and small businesses. Contractors are now pursuing other projects that point out that the relationships that started with the Queen City Square project are continuing. That was the real goal of the inclusion program: to build opportunities in ways that increase capacity.”

During the base building construction, the Queen City Square project has contracted with more than 200 contractors and subcontractors. The Queen City Square project has incorporated spending with more than 55 minority-owned, women-owned and small businesses. Notable among these statistics is that, of the $60 million spent with minority-owned, women-owned and small businesses, more than 80 percent was spent with minority-owned businesses.

The Port Authority has a long-standing commitment to economic inclusion. Their policy and proven inclusion track record set the stage for Eagle Realty and Turner Construction to achieve such promising results. Kim Satzger, Port Authority President, said, “We are excited and pleased with the innovation and dedication the team displayed in achieving these outstanding inclusion results. I am also excited about the lessons learned from this project that can be used on future projects across the region.”

As the base building construction nears completion, the project team now is focusing to assure successful inclusion for the interior finish work that is currently underway for the tenant spaces in the building. While the first occupants are expected to move in early 2011, it will take most of 2011 to construct all the tenant spaces and move the estimated 5,000 office workers into the 41-story building.

The Great American Tower at Queen City Square is not only changing Cincinnati’s skyline, but it is changing the economic fortunes of many local minority-owned, women-owned and small businesses. Gene Ellington, President/CEO of Ellington Management Services said, “As beautiful and impressive as this building is, developing Cincinnati’s fledgling minority-owned and women-owned businesses during the current economic climate has been very challenging, but it has also been very rewarding. From the beginning, the goal of the owners and the project team was to complete this project in ways that leave minority-owned, women-owned and small businesses better off than when this project started. With true commitment, the work of many dedicated partners and daily diligence, the desired project outcomes are being achieved.”