University of Illinois at Chicago Office of Public Affairs (MC 288)
601 S. Morgan St., Chicago, IL 60607-7113, (312) 996-3456, www.uic.edu/depts/paff

June 20, 2001

Contact: Bill Burton (312) 996-2269; burton@uic.edu

$9.8 M CONTRACT TO MINORITY FIRM FOR MEDICAL RESEARCH BUILDING

The University of Illinois has awarded a $9.8 million construction contract to T.R. Construction Services, a joint venture of Riteway Construction Services, Inc., an African-American-owned firm, and Tribco Construction Services, Inc., which is female-owned.

The contract calls for T.R. Construction to do all concrete work on the above-ground structure of the $115 million College of Medicine Research Building being built at the corner of Wolcott Avenue and Taylor Street on the University of Illinois at Chicago campus. The contract was approved by the university's Board of Trustees at its meeting in Springfield last month.

"The University of Illinois is trying to do something for the minority community, and we were very proud to see T.R. Construction get a major contract on the College of Medicine Research Building," said Rev. John Hatchett, CEO of the Coalition for United Community Labor Force, a community group that has been working with UIC to promote minority hiring and contracting.

"UIC is committed to providing opportunities for minority, female and local contractors and tradespersons," said Patricia Gill, associate chancellor for access and equity. The university is also working to establish an apprentice program for minority and women tradespeople with contractors.

T.R. Construction will use a local supplier, Ozinga, to supply ready-mix concrete, and Forming Concepts to do form work. The T.R. contract brings minority business enterprise, female business enterprise and local participation to more than 35 percent of the project, according to Boyd Black, director of project management services at UIC.

"Our goal is to maximize participation of the minority and local business community while working within the low-bid system," Black said.

The 295,000-square-foot College of Medicine Research Building will house laboratories and offices for faculty undertaking investigations funded by the National Institutes of Health. Major basic and clinical research programs are focused in four broad areas: cancer, cardiovascular disease, immunology/transplantation and the neurosciences. The project is scheduled for completion by the end of 2004.

The UIC College of Medicine is the largest medical school in the United States, offering a high-quality education at an affordable cost to a socially and ethnically diverse student body. Nearly 1,300 students are educated each year at four campuses across the state. One in six doctors practicing in Illinois attended UIC.

- UIC -