Finding qualified small contractors for your project

We understand that as a prime contractor or project owner, some of your greatest concerns when looking to fulfill the inclusion requirements of the A-1 Housing Bond are finding qualified small contractors who understand and can comply with your project requirements. Our Contractor Technical Assistance Programs have helped hundreds of contractors from underrepresented communities develop or expand their business-level skills to obtain bonding or other pre-qualifications and successfully complete increasingly larger project work. Highlighted below are some of our success stories and we will later be adding a downloadable list of small, local licensed contractors who have registered their interest in working on A-1 Housing Bond and other projects in Alameda County.

Michael Johnson, President and CEO of UrbanCore Development, LLC, is a long-time client of Merriwether & Williams Insurance Services (MWIS), as we provide builder’s risk and wrap-up insurance coverage for many of his projects.  With over 30 years of experience in urban real estate development, Michael cares greatly about strengthening our communities by increasing access to work and small business opportunities, and shares our experience of the multiplicity of benefits created by including small, local and diverse contractors in construction industry projects. Recently, Michael has partnered with Cahill Contractors, LLC to complete the $58 Million Coliseum Connections Project, which will provide Oakland with 110 units of apartments and townhomes, half of which have been set aside for low-income residents.

Photo: Coliseum Connections Groundbreaking Ceremony, by Tyler Williams

It is vital for small local contractors to get the training, support, pre-qualification and bonding they need to be able to work on projects like Coliseum Connections and the Lake House project. Merriwether & Williams Insurance Services has been knowledgeable, responsive and value-conscious in providing a variety of risk management services and small contractor inclusion support for my projects. Similarly, the Contractor Technical Assistance Program which they administer provides efficient, timely and highly-effective support to primes and small contractors to make it possible for project owners to find bondable and qualified, diverse local subcontractors to include in varying fields on our large-scale projects. It has really improved the competitive choices out there for project owners and increased opportunities for small local contractors to grow their businesses.

– Michael Johnson, President & CEO, UrbanCore Development, LLC

As the owner of a small, minority, woman-owned construction business, All Bay Area Glass, I look forward to opportunities for businesses like mine that will result from implementation of the Alameda County Affordable Housing Bond (Measure A-1).   I was fortunate to get a contract on the County’s East County Hall of Justice project and obtained bonding and technical assistance to successfully complete the project with the help of the Alameda County Contractor Technical Assistance Program (CTAP).  CTAP helped me understand the requirements for successful completion of the contract and the County put up collateral to help me obtain bonding for the first time.  Now I have several contracts under my belt and am busier than ever.

– Shaune Edwards, President, All Bay Area Glass

Are you a contractor interested in participating in Alameda County’s Contractor Technical Assistance Program?

Email [email protected], call 510.740.6922 or visit our Contact Us page.