Corenic Construction, Author at Corenic Construction

Baltimore Ravens $430M Stadium Upgrades to Roll out in 2024

Corenic Construction — Wed, 03 Jan 2024 19:07:53 +0000

Ravens’ $430M state-funded stadium upgrades to roll out in 2024, include 3 plazas, expanded concourses

Corenic Construction is thrilled to announce our partnership with Gilbane for the renovations of the M&T Bank stadium. This project is a significant milestone for us, and we are truly excited to play a major role in its success.

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The Baltimore Sun

By HAYES GARDNER | hgardner@baltsun.com

PUBLISHED: December 12, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. | UPDATED: December 12, 2023 at 6:29 p.m.

M&T Bank Stadium will soon undergo its most substantial makeover since it opened in 1998.

Equipped with a large fund of state dollars, the Ravens and the Maryland Stadium Authority unveiled plans Tuesday to renovate the 71,008-seat venue. Some improvements will be finished by August 2024, ahead of the start of next year’s regular season, while others are scheduled to be completed ahead of the 2025 and 2026 campaigns. By the end, three plazas with bars and retail stores will surround the stadium and greet fans on game days, the upper concourses will be expanded by several thousand square feet to decrease foot traffic, and premium seating will be added next to the field and above the lower level, where the press box currently sits.

The renovations will cost the state at least $430 million over the three years.

That money comes from a 2022 law passed by the General Assembly and then-Gov. Larry Hogan, which permitted the stadium authority to issue $600 million in bonds for improvements to each of Baltimore’s two pro sports stadiums, provided the Orioles and Ravens, which operate as tenants of the state, signed long-term leases. By agreeing in January to a lease until at least 2037, the Ravens unlocked their share of those state funds and have worked with the stadium authority as well as Gensler, an architecture firm, and Gilbane, a construction company, on those plans.

“We want to make sure with such a significant investment that we really impacted and enhanced the experience for all of our fans,” Ravens president Sashi Brown told The Baltimore Sun.

The bulk of the improvements will be completed ahead of the 2025 season, but by 2024, fans will see some additions, including a two-level beer hall, dubbed The Gatehouse, on the east side of the stadium. Similar to rowhouses in many Baltimore neighborhoods, the bar will feature a roof deck with string lights.

“It will look out over Fed Hill toward the Inner Harbor. So that’s going to be awesome,” Brown said.

That will be the first of three plazas. Ahead of the 2026 season, the Ravens will add an 8,000- to 10,000-square-foot retail store, open year-round, on the south side, and in 2025, two large structures — the marquee addition of the remodel — will flank the gates on the north side, next to the statues of Ray Lewis and Johnny Unitas. That plaza, billed as the “Grand Entrance to M&T Bank Stadium” by the Ravens, will have a stage, a sports bar, a tailgate area, as well as a team store and some sort of element highlighting the team’s history.

A rendering of upcoming renovations coming to M&T Bank Stadium. (Baltimore Ravens/Courtesy)

Show Caption

“We’re creating a new front door to M&T Bank Stadium,” Ravens senior vice president of marketing Brad Downs said.

Traditional tailgating will continue in parking lots, but the plazas will likely entice some fans to spend their pregame hours in bars attached to the stadium.

“As you know, the beer is colder and the hot dogs taste better here in our footprint, so we want to make sure we extend that,” said Rich Tamayo, Ravens senior vice president of stadium operations and guest experience.

The plazas will generally not be open year-round but could be rented out for private events or host watch parties for Ravens road games. They will be open on game days for all fans, but some upgrades to the stadium will only be enjoyed by a select few.

The press box — located at midfield just above the first level, one of the most coveted views of the field — will be relocated in 2024 to the southeast corner. In its place will be 10 suites and an exclusive adjoining club, which will have a “speakeasy” feel, the Ravens said in a news release, with “concierge service, high-end food and beverage options, mixologists at the bar, featured cocktails, a special selection of bakery items from a pastry chef and more.”

“It’s going to be a really exciting space that will allow our big corporations who are now up on the third floor get a little bit closer to the action and have an elevated experience for them and their guests on game day,” Brown said.

Field suites and lower-level clubs that will “get you feet from the action,” Brown said, will also be added in 2025.

The Ravens surveyed fans’ preferences and, as a result, will also plan to add more bathrooms and conditioned spaces for all attendees to avoid the elements. Adding a roof was never seriously considered — it would be prohibitively expensive and, Brown said, the Ravens enjoy the element of playing outside.

The upper concourse will also be expanded in 2025 to improve the flow of foot traffic and, at off-peak times, become a place to socialize.

Tens of millions of dollars worth of renovations will be infrastructure-focused, but Brown said that, because the stadium has been well cared for, much of the investment will go toward fan-facing improvements.

“It’s a tribute to M&T [Bank Stadium]. It was constructed really well, it’s been maintained really well and it’s stood the test of time. It’s still a beautiful stadium and, with the investments that we’ve made in it, it doesn’t feel like it’s dated and the infrastructure is strong,” he said.

At 25 years old, M&T Bank Stadium is one of the older NFL stadiums. The Tennessee Titans’ stadium, which opened a year after Baltimore’s, will soon be replaced by a $2.1 billion venue paid for with public and private dollars.

The Ravens announced their upcoming projects Tuesday with a news conference at M&T Bank Stadium, complete with a band and dancers greeting attendees. Brown, alongside Ravens executives, Gensler’s Global Director of Sports Ryan Sickman, and stadium authority Chair Craig Thompson, outlined the plans.

“Quite frankly, I’ve not been this excited in a while about looking at pictures,” Thompson said afterward, referencing displayed renderings. “Knowing what they represent in terms of the hard work of [stadium authority vice president of capital projects] Phil Hutson, his team, the MSA, the partnership, is really sort of a long time coming.”

The improvements, as scheduled, would still leave nearly $170 million (of the $600 million) in state finances for the Ravens to potentially use later.

“These are public dollars. [We] want to make sure we’re careful and thoughtful and efficient with the investment. And we’ve worked well with MSA to get to, I think, a really good place that will be very impactful across the stadium and the fan experience as a whole,” Brown said.

The state of Maryland paid for the construction of M&T Bank Stadium in the 1990s and, since then, the Ravens have paid for maintenance and operation costs, but not rent to the state. By playing in a publicly owned stadium, the team enjoys other benefits such as not having to pay property taxes — which would have been at least $176 million since it was built, according to one estimate — but has also invested almost $250 million of its own money in capital improvements, Brown said.

Some observers have said the state could better spend its money on other needed projects aside from stadium improvements. At an event Monday evening focused on rehabilitating vacant properties, the Rev. Andrew Connors said, “If we can find close to $1.5 billion in lean times for our football and baseball teams,” before being interrupted by applause.

“If we can find hundreds of millions of dollars in public money for the Inner Harbor for a second time,” he continued, “then we all know we can find the money for a first-time investment in our neighborhoods.”

Mayor Brandon Scott, who attended Monday evening’s event on rehabilitating vacant properties and Tuesday’s stadium news conference, said that this is a “both-and” situation, meaning government can support neighborhoods as well as the stadiums.

“The state of Maryland owns this building [M&T Bank Stadium],” Scott told The Sun on Tuesday. “This is the government investing in its own asset and allowing it to benefit all of the city. We do not have to make these false choices.”

Asked about the argument that public money could be spent more wisely elsewhere, Brown noted that the team generates tax revenue for the state, as well as ancillary benefits and publicity.

“The direct benefits of us being here, with the tax revenue that we generate, with the investment that we’ve made alongside the state into the stadium, is a really positive story,” Brown said.

Economists routinely argue against subsidies for privately owned pro sports teams, saying taxpayer dollars could be better served toward education, transportation or even tax breaks.

The stadium authority will issue bonds and borrow money from JPMorgan Chase to finance the upcoming improvements, which will ultimately be paid off over at least a decade with lottery revenue. The stadium authority board has recently discussed and approved some of the renovations and, in May, the Board of Public Works approved the plan to borrow up to $450 million.

“We are pleased and very, very excited to be able to advance this item today,” Gov. Wes Moore, who chairs the three-person board, said at the time, “to ensure that M&T Bank Stadium will continue to serve as a vital cultural, a vital economic and a vital entertainment asset for Baltimore, and also for the state of Maryland, for years to come.”

The Orioles have not accessed their portion of the funds for Camden Yards because they have not yet signed a long-term lease, after an agreed-to deal came to a halt Friday. Their current lease with the state expires Dec. 31.

Baltimore Sun reporter Emily Opilo contributed to this article.

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Officials Break Ground for New Suitland High School

Corenic Construction — Fri, 15 Jul 2022 19:13:53 +0000

Corenic Construction and Turner Construction embark on a multi-phased joint venture

On Thursday, June 30, 2022, Corenic Construction was joined by Turner Construction at Suitland High School’s Groundbreaking Ceremony to introduce the new construction of the Prince George’s County high school. Located in Forestville, Maryland, the multi-phased project includes full replacement of the existing 344,875 SF and 2,477 student Suitland High School Campus, consisting of the Comprehensive High School (CHS), Center for Visual and Performing (CVPA) Arts and Career Technical Education (CTE).

As a Prince George’s County based contractor, Corenic Construction is excited to embark on this joint venture with Turner Construction, ensuring small and minority businesses are well represented while doing impactful work within our community. After 70 years, this historic redesign allows students to abide by Suitland’s motto “Falling Forward Toward Student Achievement.” With our young people and future leaders in mind, we have made a commitment to the future of our county’s education system, which allows us to stay true to our mission – A commitment made is a commitment delivered!

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A Maryland school system launches a P3 program

Corenic Construction — Wed, 29 Jun 2022 15:24:08 +0000

Gilbane and Stantec are part of a consortium that breaks ground on six new schools this week.

BY JOHN CAULFIELD, SENIOR EDITOR |JUNE 29, 2021

Article Source: https://www.bdcnetwork.com/

Exterior rendering of new K-12 school in Prince George’s County in Maryland

rince George’s County Public Schools is the second-largest school system in Maryland. It is also the second-oldest, with more than half of its 208 schools over 50 years old.

Like many school systems around the nation, Prince George’s faces rising enrollment with aging buildings and not enough seats. To address these shortfalls, the county has initiated an alternative construction financing program with some of the industry’s leading AEC firms, whose goal is to accelerate the time it takes to plan, finance, and build schools, and to reduce the cost of construction and maintenance.

COMMITMENT TO SMALL AND MINORITY BUSINESS PARTICIPATION

This consortium, known as Prince George’s County Education & Community Partners, this week broke ground on six K-8 and Middle schools whose completion is scheduled for the summer of 2023. The properties will be turned over to the consortium on July 1 to begin construction through a Public-Private partnership delivery approach. The consortium comprises Fengate Asset Management, an alternative investment manager focused on infrastructure, private equity, and real estate strategies; Gilbane Development Company (a financing member), Gilbane Building Company (the lead design-builder), Stantec (designer and AOR), and Honeywell (lead services provider).

Also see: Three AEC firms launch a mass timber product for quicker school construction

According to the Prince George’s County Public Schools “Blueprint Schools” website, Arel Architects, a certified county-based small business and minority business enterprise, is part of the design team and has a mentor protégé relationship with Stantec. Warren Builds Construction and Corenic Construction Group (also certified small and minority businesses) are on the construction team and have mentor protégé relationships with Gilbane. Three|E Consulting Group serves as the economic inclusion and compliance team.

The consortium is guaranteeing procurement of at least 30% of total eligible costs of the program to minority-owned businesses, community-based small businesses, and the creation of county-based jobs.

CUTTING THE PLAN-TO-BUILD TIME IN HALF

In Maryland, it typically takes seven years to plan and build a school. The consortium’s members believe the county’s alternative financing approach can cut that time in half, and save an aggregate of $174 million in deferred maintenance and construction costs for all six new schools, compared to a traditional construction procurement model.

The six schools under construction create 3,000 jobs and will result in upgraded facilities for more than 8,000 students and their families.

Prince George’s County claims to be the first public school system in the U.S. to leverage a full-scope alternative financing model to design, build, finance, and maintain a multi-school K-12 construction program.

“We have made tremendous strides in the area of long-range facility planning to advance from a capital program of primarily emergency repair projects toward a major modernization program with a plan to address each older facility in our inventory over the next 20 years,” says Dr. Monica Goldson, CEO of Prince George’s County Public Schools. “The Blueprint Schools initiative helps us accelerate delivery of new schools and modernizations for safe, sustainable, educational facilities to fully support 21st Century instruction for our students, staff, and community.”

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Starbucks Expands in Underserved Communities

Corenic Construction — Tue, 28 Jun 2022 17:24:44 +0000

Corenic Construction projects featured in the Starbucks Ariticle:

Starbucks Anacostia – Washington, DC

Starbucks Capital Plaza – Landover Hills, MD

Article Source: Starbucks Stories and News

January 16, 2020

Starbucks plans to operate 100 stores by 2025 in underrepresented neighborhoods across the country as part of the expanded Community Store program, working with non-profits and civic leaders to bolster economic growth

A national partnership with United Way will help enable hundreds of Starbucks partners (employees) to drive meaningful community engagement in and outside of store

Starbucks partners are multiplying their community impact this month with the distribution of 1,000 Neighborhood Grants to local NGOs and support in hundreds of service projects for Martin Luther King Jr. Week of Service

SEATTLE – Five years following the launch of its Community Store Program initiative, Starbucks today announced it will increase its commitment to open 100 Community Stores dedicated to providing economic opportunity in underserved rural and urban communities across the country, an 85 store increase from its 2015 commitment. These stores will focus on hiring locally, creating dedicated space for communities to come together for events and working with diverse contractors for store construction and remodels. The company aspires to complete this goal by 2025.

Starbucks will consider factors such as high youth unemployment, low median household income and population stability when selecting Community Store locations. The company will prioritize developing cafes in economically distressed communities, or Opportunity Zones, with upcoming locations planned for Prince George’s County, MD; Anacostia, D.C.; and Los Angeles, CA.

“We believe it is our role and responsibility to partner with those in the communities we serve to help make a positive economic and social impact,” said John Kelly, executive vice president of Public Affairs at Starbucks. “These stores are successful and it’s time to expand the model. Over the last five years, we’ve seen these Community Stores empower our partners and customers to create meaningful impact that is localized and relevant to their neighborhoods. We’ve learned a great deal from our 14 Community Stores and applied those learnings to how we approach community partnership in more than 8,000 neighborhoods we serve across the country.”

The Community Stores will share several common aspects compared to other Starbucks cafes, including: locations in economically distressed communities; a designated room or space for community events and programming; a partnership with a local United Way chapter to facilitate relevant community programs; a focus on working with diverse contractors for store construction and remodels; and an emphasis on hiring locally.

Since launching the Community Store initiative in 2015, Starbucks has opened 14 stores across the country in Jamaica Queens, NY; Ferguson, MO; Phoenix, AZ; Englewood in the southside of Chicago; east Baltimore; Long Beach, CA; Trenton, NJ; White Center in south Seattle; Miami Gardens, FL; Birmingham, AL; Redbird in Dallas, TX; Bed-Stuy in Brooklyn, NY; New Orleans, LA; and Jonesboro, GA. The 15^th store will open in Prince George’s County, MD this spring.

Starbucks estimates its Community Stores have helped:

Create more than 300 local jobs and connect young people to education and employment opportunities.
Generate more than $59.7 million in indirect economic development created from store construction and over 1,100 indirect jobs.
Identify and eliminate barriers to entry that prevent diverse-owned contractors from competing successfully to build stores for the company.
Provide 14 community spaces decorated with local artwork that reflects the personality and heart of each community.

To scale the program to 100 locations by 2025, Starbucks will focus on supporting store remodels in addition to new development projects.

As part of Starbucks national partnership with United Way, local United Ways and 211s in targeted communities will work with Community Store partners to create resources and programs for each community from life skills training for youth to mentorship programs and beyond. That includes facilitating activities at the stores that support people in the community, providing Starbucks partners with customized community profiles and resource information and connecting partners with volunteer activities that help create real change in the communities in which they live and work.

“United Way and Starbucks share a commitment to ensuring every person has the opportunity to thrive, and we’re honored to partner with them,” said Suzanne McCormick, U.S. President of United Way Worldwide. “United Way has been connecting people to resources across the U.S. for more than 130 years, and we look forward to deploying United Way’s local expertise and experience to help Starbucks Community Stores make a real difference.”

The Starbucks Foundation Awards 1,000 Neighborhood Grants, Thousands of Starbucks Partners Volunteer in National Service Projects

In addition to today’s news of the Community Store expansion, The Starbucks Foundation also announced it has awarded more than 1,000 Neighborhood Grants, a new giving program that creates local impact and empowers store partners to strengthen relationships with local nonprofit organizations. To date, hundreds of store managers have secured more than $1 million in grants from The Starbucks Foundation for more than 1,000 local nonprofit organizations in all 50 U.S. states and all Canadian provinces.

In addition to these local partnerships initiated by Starbucks partners every day, thousands of store partners have committed to hundreds of local service projects next week across the United States as part of the Martin Luther King Week of Good. In many communities, United Way is facilitating volunteer activities that help improve education, health and financial stability.

To learn more about how our partners are creating meaningful connections and driving positive impact in their communities, visit stories.starbucks.com/stories/partners.

About Starbucks

Since 1971, Starbucks Coffee Company has been committed to ethically sourcing and roasting high-quality arabica coffee. Today, with more than 31,000 stores around the globe, Starbucks is the premier roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in the world. Through our unwavering commitment to excellence and our guiding principles, we bring the unique Starbucks Experience to life for every customer through every cup. To share in the experience, please visit us in our stores or online at https://stories.starbucks.com and www.Starbucks.com.

About United Way

United Way fights for the health, education and financial stability of every person in every community. Supported by 2.9 million volunteers, 8.1 million donors worldwide and $4.8 billion raised every year, United Way is the world’s largest privately-funded nonprofit. We’re engaged in nearly 1,800 communities across more than 40 countries and territories worldwide to create sustainable solutions to the challenges facing our communities. United Way partners include global, national and local businesses, nonprofits, government, civic and faith-based organizations, along with educators, labor leaders, health providers, senior citizens, students and more. For more information about United Way, please visit https://www.UnitedWay.org. Follow us on Twitter: @UnitedWay and #LiveUnited.

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Starbucks Commitment Expands in Anacostia

Corenic Construction — Tue, 28 Jun 2022 17:23:41 +0000

Corenic Construction projects featured in the Starbucks Ariticle:

Starbucks Anacostia – Washington, DC

Starbucks Capital Plaza – Landover Hills, MD

Article Source: Starbucks Stories and News

January 16, 2020

A national partnership with United Way will help enable hundreds of Starbucks partners (employees) to drive meaningful community engagement in and outside of store

Starbucks estimates its Community Stores have helped:

Create more than 300 local jobs and connect young people to education and employment opportunities.
Generate more than $59.7 million in indirect economic development created from store construction and over 1,100 indirect jobs.
Identify and eliminate barriers to entry that prevent diverse-owned contractors from competing successfully to build stores for the company.
Provide 14 community spaces decorated with local artwork that reflects the personality and heart of each community.

To scale the program to 100 locations by 2025, Starbucks will focus on supporting store remodels in addition to new development projects.

The Starbucks Foundation Awards 1,000 Neighborhood Grants, Thousands of Starbucks Partners Volunteer in National Service Projects

To learn more about how our partners are creating meaningful connections and driving positive impact in their communities, visit stories.starbucks.com/stories/partners.

About Starbucks

About United Way

The post Starbucks Commitment Expands in Anacostia appeared first on Corenic Construction.

Corenic Construction’s Brunson Cooper Visits the P3 Project

Corenic Construction — Thu, 12 May 2022 15:08:06 +0000

by Shelton Russell

Article Source: American DBE Magazine

Brunson Cooper, managing director of Corenic Construction visits the P3 Project podcast and talks about his thriving MBE/DBE construction company based in Washington, DC. Cooper shares his background working for one of the largest construction companies in America after graduating from North Carolina A&T State University. He also talks about growing Corenic Construction from a small startup firm to a general contractor performing as a prime contractor and first-tier subcontractor on major projects in the Greater Washington, DC region. Cooper then shares some of the mentors that have helped guide his career and have been a significant influence during the growth of the company. Shelton A. Russell, publisher of American DBE Magazine is the host of the P3 Project.

American DBE Blog, P3 Project Podcast, Podcasts

building construction, Construction, DBE, general contractor, MBE, Minority Business

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Core Values: CE Profiles Brunson Cooper

Corenic Construction — Wed, 04 May 2022 15:17:44 +0000

By Maggie Murphy | Wednesday, May 4, 2022

District of Columbia , Construction Careers , Business Development

Article Link: Construction Executives

For those who know Brunson Cooper, it comes as no surprise to learn that during the height of the pandemic, he purchased a truckload of food for delivery to the Low Country Food Bank and took a one-day, 14-hour roundtrip from Washington, D.C., to his hometown of Hemingway, South Carolina, to distribute it after catching wind that many local families were in desperate need. More than 400 cars came through the donation line that day, leading Cooper to sponsor two additional food drives in Hemingway that year.

For Cooper, the act was second nature. Building and nurturing relationships is a driving force in his life—a value instilled in him by his father, after whom he’s named. Without deliberately taking time to foster key relationships, Cooper says, he’d never be doing what he does today: owning and operating his own construction company, D.C.-based Corenic Construction.

THE GUY WITH THE ANSWERS

Growing up in what he describes as a “very country, three-light town,” Cooper says his father showed him from a very young age what it was he didn’t want to do for a living. Outside of his parents’ day jobs—his father a paper mill foreman and his mother a second-grade teacher—the family cultivated a massive garden behind their home, akin to a small farm. Cooper’s chores included everything from mowing the family’s 2.5-acre property with a push mower, to weeding the huge garden, to washing his father’s pickup truck every three to four days.

“He was always telling me, ‘Listen. I want you to be better than me. I want you to get a good education. I want you to do something more,’” Cooper tells CE during an interview at Corenic’s offices near the Washington Navy Yard. “More” started with Cooper’s enrollment at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, North Carolina, where he completed a degree in civil engineering. Upon graduating in 1996, he accepted a job offer from Turner Construction. After expressing his pride with a hearty congratulations, Cooper’s father took his offer letter and drove him straight to a used-car dealership—in the vehicle that Cooper had been borrowing from him. “You’ve got a job now?” his father said. “You’re gonna buy your own car, and I’m taking back my car. I’ve done my part.”

Cooper drove that new-old car north during his move to Falls Church, Virginia, to work as a field engineer on his first Turner project: a new headquarters for the Society for Human Resource Management in nearby Alexandria, Virginia. His first day on the job, Cooper was greeted by the project’s superintendent, who told him, “You’re a part of the team now. You might be the lowest man on the totem pole, but you’re still a manager here and it’s your job to manage our subcontractors.” Cooper stepped up, learning the project front to back—fielding questions from laborers, taking survey notes, supporting daily construction reports and doing personnel count morning and night.

“I became the guy with the answers,” Cooper says. “One of the biggest things my dad instilled in me was to approach everyone I meet with the same level of respect. I never went into a conversation thinking I knew everything—instead, I asked the questions.” In doing so, Cooper developed a rapport with the team that didn’t go unnoticed, earning him a promotion to superintendent just a few months into the year-and-a-half-long project.

Cooper continued to work his way up the Turner ladder, becoming a project manager and then a senior project manager, at which point he started to think about what came next. He had begun a side hustle working on home-improvement projects for acquaintances, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that it could lead to something bigger.

A COMMITMENT MADE, A COMMITMENT DELIVERED

Cooper’s wife, Tia, agreed. A financial manager with a successful career of her own, she encouraged her husband to step out on his own, and in 2009 the two drafted a business plan and came up with a name—“Corenic,” a combination of his children’s middle names: Lillian Corine and Brunson Dominic, now 14 and 13, respectively.

About a year later, what began as a piece of paperwork legalizing the company name turned into Corenic’s first job—a simple, $17,000 lobby renovation consisting of a fresh coat of paint and new carpet installation. Cooper did the work in the mornings and evenings surrounding his 9-5 shift at Turner, supported in part by two trusted subcontractors. That job’s successful completion led to a steady trickle of work, and with each new project completed, Cooper put the earnings back into Corenic. Within a couple of years, the trickle had turned into a much heavier flow, and in 2012, after a 15-year tenure with Turner, Cooper dove full-time into Corenic.

Just 10 years later, Corenic has grown from a one-man, $17,000 show to more than 30 full-time employees, more than 1,000 completed projects and annual revenues topping $50 million. The firm’s primary market focus is interior alterations and renovations, with a growing portfolio of small-base buildings and facility additions. The secret sauce, according to Cooper, boils down to building relationships and keeping commitments.

“I’m a man of my word—my word is my bond,” he says, echoing Corenic’s company slogan: “A commitment made, a commitment delivered.” Cooper instills in his team that the best thing they can do for the company is provide unmatched customer service. “I just like to talk with people, I like to have conversations, I like to get to know them—and I think that’s been a huge contributing factor to my company’s success,” Cooper says. “If I’m a client and I have 10 contractors bidding my job, I’m not going with a name on a piece of paper—I’m going with the team who took the time to get to know me, to get to know exactly what I want and how I want it done.”

That philosophy has served Corenic well. More than 80% of its business comes from repeat clients, and several employees are previous colleagues of Cooper’s. “I first met Brunson at Turner Construction in 1999, and right off the bat I knew he was someone who was going to be very successful in this business,” says Corenic superintendent Barry Wenck, who semi-retired from Turner in 2013. Cooper offered him a part-time position, and after a few jobs Wenck was out of retirement and working full-time again.

“Brunson leads by example. He trusts his team and doesn’t micromanage,” Wenck says. “I have worked in the construction industry for 46 years, and Brunson is without a doubt one of the humblest people I have ever met in this business. He has always said that Corenic’s success comes from his dedicated team of employees—an attitude that I think will always keep Corenic on top.”

Corenic General Manager James Morrow, another connection from Turner, echoes Wenck. “Brunson has high expectations of himself and of others,” Morrow says, “but his humility and his desire for genuine connection with his team keeps us constantly moving toward the next big goal.”

THE GREATEST AWARD

It’s not just Cooper’s clients and colleagues who have taken note of his successful leadership style. Corenic’s rapid rise has earned him several awards and honors, including recognition as one of the Prince George’s County Social Innovation Fund’s “40 Under 40,” receiving Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Small Businesses Certificate of Entrepreneurship and being named a Minority Business Leader by the Washington Business Journal.

For Cooper, though, it’s not so much about the award as it is about the reward—which is the opportunity to give back that has been afforded by his company’s success. Cooper is all in when it comes to doing good, whether it’s funding a scholarship program at his hometown church in his late father’s name, going “all out” for Christmas toy drives or donating to groups such as Prince George’s County’s Community Youth Advance, which provides tutoring, mentoring and experiential learning to the county’s underprivileged K-12 students.

One of the organizations nearest and dearest to Cooper’s heart is Mentoring to Manhood, which provides weekly tutoring, group mentoring activities and family support to more than 150 middle- and high-school-aged boys. Cooper has been involved with the program since 2015. “One of the students I worked with [through Mentoring to Manhood] recently called me and is enrolled in the electrical engineering program at Morgan State University,” Cooper says. “I was able to connect him with my best friend, who’s an engineer in the Army. It’s incredible to me to see these young men grow and to see them learn the value of making connections. I received an award from the organization last year, which has been one of the biggest honors I could have ever received.

“To me, that award was confirmation that I have grown into a man like my father was—a giver,” Cooper says. “We didn’t have much, but what we did have, my father always shared. To be able to do the same thing today, with my wife and my family…to know that I’ve been fortunate enough to have success in my life that I can share—that’s been the greatest award of them all.”

Written by Maggie Murphy – Managing Editor, Construction Executive

Maggie handles Construction Executive’s production, scheduling and digital assets, including our website, digital edition and social media, in addition to editing our print content and writing feature articles, industry new briefs and a variety of topical columns. She’s a native Marylander and a graduate of Salisbury University, with a background working on the marketing team for a large general contractor.

The post Core Values: CE Profiles Brunson Cooper appeared first on Corenic Construction.

Starbucks Expands Commitment in Underserved Communities

Corenic Construction — Sun, 01 May 2022 15:13:04 +0000

Corenic Construction projects featured in the Starbucks Ariticle:

Starbucks Anacostia – Washington, DC

Starbucks Capital Plaza – Landover Hills, MD

Article Source: Starbucks Stories and News

January 16, 2020

A national partnership with United Way will help enable hundreds of Starbucks partners (employees) to drive meaningful community engagement in and outside of store

Starbucks estimates its Community Stores have helped:

Create more than 300 local jobs and connect young people to education and employment opportunities.
Generate more than $59.7 million in indirect economic development created from store construction and over 1,100 indirect jobs.
Identify and eliminate barriers to entry that prevent diverse-owned contractors from competing successfully to build stores for the company.
Provide 14 community spaces decorated with local artwork that reflects the personality and heart of each community.

To scale the program to 100 locations by 2025, Starbucks will focus on supporting store remodels in addition to new development projects.

The Starbucks Foundation Awards 1,000 Neighborhood Grants, Thousands of Starbucks Partners Volunteer in National Service Projects

To learn more about how our partners are creating meaningful connections and driving positive impact in their communities, visit stories.starbucks.com/stories/partners.

About Starbucks

About United Way

The post Starbucks Expands Commitment in Underserved Communities appeared first on Corenic Construction.