Paul Edlund featured in the Star Tribune
Paul speaks on government contracting as a certified disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE).
Read the full article here.
2022 Diverse Business of the Year Award
2022 Diverse Business of the Year Award
On Wednesday, January 18th, at the Associated General Contractors of Minnesota 2023 Construction Summit, J. Benson Construction was awarded the AGC of MN Diverse Business of the Year Award!
Our company works to be a partner and collaborator with others in the construction industry. Oftentimes, WMBE firms may take the position that it is “US” v. “THEM”. Sometimes the “THEM” is the large general contractors, other times the “THEM” could be other WMBE firms. The J. Benson approach, from the beginning, has been to build partnerships and invest in relationships with general and specialty contractors of all types - diverse and non-diverse. We believe that there is enough work for all of us, and that we can do better-together. We continue to work hard to create opportunities for our business, but also to create connections and opportunities for other diverse firms (our competitors).
J. Benson Construction is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive culture in the office and in the field. What that means for us, is that the importance of diversity and the reasons behind it, are discussed frequently. We also create a safe place for people to ask questions and give feedback; we have found that open, honest, and frequent communication have been the best tools to change and improve our culture. In addition to communication, action and accountability have been key in building a better, more inclusive culture. We recognize that it is a marathon, not a sprint, and that it takes time to implement change; we continue to invest the time and effort to create a more diverse and inclusive culture.
Our commitment to diversity has allowed all employees to feel like they have a voice and has positively impacted overall company morale. It has also been a process that has involved some challenges and friction, but ultimately has led to a more pleasant working environment for all of our staff and has created a more welcoming environment for new hires. Since our work in creating a more diverse workplace, we have seen a dramatic reduction in employee turnover.
Winning the AGC Diverse Business of the Year Award was an affirmation that all of the hard work our team has been doing for the last few years is beginning to pay off, and it has served as an inspiration for our office and field staff as something we can proudly point to as we look to become a destination workplace. Increasingly, winning this award has shown our team, and prospective employees, that J. Benson Construction is doing something valuable and important.
“As a small business owner, there are many sleepless nights, and moments of self-doubt; winning this award helps alleviate much of the internal questioning.” – Paul Edlund, CEO
We would like to extend special thank you to some of our most valuable friends and partners, who were able to share the stage, and celebrate this amazing moment together:
Cavonte Johnson, at United Properties
Zae Sellers, with Mortenson
Stefan Michno with Kraus-Anderson
Robert Harper, MPP with Meda - Metropolitan Economic Development Association
Russ Hagen from Data Recognition Corporation.
We can’t thank you enough for your willingness to make a connection, build a relationship and create opportunities for us at J. Benson Construction.
Thank you to the Associated General Contractors of Minnesota for recognizing our efforts by granting us with the Diverse Business of the Year Award.
Check it out on LinkedIn here
Paul Edlund, CEO, J. Benson Construction
Spotlight On: Paul Edlund, CEO, J. Benson Construction
In an interview with Invest:, Paul Edlund, CEO of J. Benson Constructions, shared his team’s transition to Downtown Minneapolis, the efforts underway to get more people involved in the industry to meet demand and his outlook.
Read the article here.
We’ve Moved!
J. Benson Construction is proud to announce we have moved our headquarters to Downtown Minneapolis.
J. Benson Construction’s mission is to promote change in racial, social, and economic inequities, by employing people from underserved communities in the construction trades. We aim to build better communities, through strategic partnerships, creating trust, and our commitment to excellence and accountability.
We are proud to call downtown Minneapolis our new home!
J. Benson is looking forward to what this exciting change means to our clients, trade partners, supporters and our staff.
“Our goal is to be the change that we want to see in our local communities; this is why we continue to invest our time, energy and financial resources in the city of Minneapolis.” – Paul Edlund, CEO
Drop in and visit us for a cup of coffee at our new location:
505 E. Grant St.,
Suite 101
Minneapolis, MN 55404
J. Benson Construction remodels the first Black-owned bank in Minnesota.
First Independence Bank opened their doors in April 2022 after J. Benson Construction remodeled their first branch location in Minneapolis.
J. Benson Construction proudly accepted the opportunity to remodel the location, previously a Wells Fargo Bank, for the first ever Black-owned bank in Minnesota.
First Independence Bank, based out of Detroit, Michigan, extended their roots into Minnesota after opening their first branch in April 2022 on the 3400 block of University Avenue in Minneapolis. Both J. Benson Construction and First Independence bank operate with a shared commitment to address the racial disparities plaguing the Twin Cities.
J. Benson Construction’s mission is to promote change to historic racial, social and economic inequities, by employing underemployed people of color in the construction industry. We believe providing Twin Cities metro residents of color with a livable wage and union benefits has an immediate, and long-lasting, impact on social justice and public safety. We are committed to building a better community, through strategic partnerships and commitment to excellence.
J. Benson Construction is also in the process of building First Independence Bank’s second branch, which will be located off of Hiawatha and East Lake Street in South Minneapolis, set to open this summer.
Learn more about First Independence Bank here.
Check out these articles featuring First Independence Bank’s grand opening in Minnesota:
J. Benson Construction is Unionizing.
J. BENSON CONSTRUCTION'S PLANS TO BECOME UNION CONSTRUCTION FIRM
By Iain Carlos – Reporter, Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal
Paul Edlund's old work as a criminal defense lawyer laid heavy on his mind. No matter his success in bettering his clients' fate, he felt powerless to address systemic issues that led them into trouble in the first place, he said.
"I felt like Sisyphus pushing the boulder up the hill, over and over and over again," Benson said.
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That's part of why, in November 2020, Edlund purchased J. Benson Construction in Hopkins. He aims to grow the firm, which has for 50 years specialized in the restoration of residential and commercial structures, into a union-affiliated, general contractor. If he succeeds, he said, the firm would provide a number of Twin Cities metro residents of color with much-needed middle-class income and union benefits and help normalize the presence of Black-owned contractors affiliated with the union.
Edlund knows tackling union work with J. Benson, which he wants to start doing in the next couple of months, would unlock a sizable amount of revenue for his business and fruits for his employees. Many large-scale development projects are cordoned off to union-affiliated, and almost exclusively white-owned, companies, leaving nonunion firms to take on smaller projects.
He also knows the endeavor won't be easy, he said. Thor Construction, the teeming and seemingly secure Black-owned and union-affiliated construction company that helped inspire Edlund's goal, collapsed in 2019.
Calvin Littlejohn, co-founder of TRI-Construction in North Minneapolis, one of the few currently operating Black-owned union construction firms in Minnesota, told the Business Journal that a lack of access to capital and the costs of union dues and benefits have meant "this union construction landscape is littered with the bones of Black businesses.”
Edlund has a strategy to keep J. Benson solvent as it scales. The pivot away from the company's restoration work, which earns the firm around $6 million in revenue annually, toward larger-scale development projects, will happen slowly, keeping a reliable stream of capital available.
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J. Benson will rely on support and guidance from Minneapolis-based Kraus-Anderson and Alberta, Canada-based general contractor PCL Construction. The firms have been advising J. Benson on the nuances and implications of transitioning into union work, and helping J. Benson network in its search for commercial construction contracting opportunities.
Edlund's firm also won't be taking on any prime contracts for some time, pursuing instead safer subcontracting opportunities, for now.
"I've got a more conservative growth strategy because I'd like to make sure that we're around for the next 50 years, and not just to chase what may seemingly be a pot of gold at the minority contractor rainbow," he said.
On the employment end, J. Benson is working with Minneapolis vocational training organization Summit Academy OIC to recruit construction workers of color, and put them on the path to becoming well-trained, paid and benefited union laborers, Edlund said.
Unionizing our construction company allows us to keep the focus on your project. Contact us to learn more about our construction, emergency repair, and general contracting services.
J. Benson Construction Partners with CCC in Minneapolis to Make a Difference
BUSINESS COALITION AIMS TO REPAIR TWIN CITIES DAMAGE FROM LAST SUMMER'S UNREST
BUSINESS COALITION AIMS TO REPAIR TWIN CITIES DAMAGE FROM LAST SUMMER'S UNREST
By Iain Carlos – Reporter, Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal
Minneapolis-construction-business-community-rebuild-restore
Much of the property damage from last summer's unrest remains un-repaired along Lake Street, North Minneapolis and Midway commercial hubs. A business coalition is trying to change that by tapping the strength of people of color-owned construction firms.
Since August, Construction Connection to Community, or CCC, has been building a team of construction contractors, legal and insurance experts, and consulting firms to mend the damages. With their forces now assembled, the organization plans to complete the work by pairing firms owned by people of color with some of the larger general contractors in the Twin Cities — generating revenue and relationships that could transform the landscape of the local construction scene, CCC co-founder R. Lynn Pingol said.
"We are not just using [CCC] to shake hands then walk away," said Christopher Tauscheck, project manager at Edmonton, Alberta, Canada-based PCL Construction about his firm's coming collaboration with minority-run contractors. "We are really trying to form partnerships."
CCC's mission isn't simple. At least 400 businesses on Lake Street, 94 in North Minneapolis and 236 along University Avenue in St. Paul sustained damage last summer in riots following the murder of George Floyd while in police custody, according to the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul and the Northside Economic Opportunity Network. Nonetheless, the coalition's founders, Pingol; Keith Baker, president of Consortium Minnesota Consulting Group; and Tim Worke, CEO of Associated General Contractors of Minnesota, have a plan to get it done.
For each project, CCC affiliated firms will perform a pro bono evaluation of the damage, determine how much the insurer is obligated to cover (if the space is insured), and get estimates from minority-owned construction firms for the price of repair.
For uninsured or under-insured businesses, CCC will pay for the repairs with fundraised capital and, failing that, by tapping grants, Pingol said. Then, CCC will contract a minority-owned firm to make the repairs as that firm receives mentorship from the larger general contractors for the duration of the project.
Repeat that enough times, in theory, and the Twin Cities will have reinvigorated business corridors and a hardier body of minority-owned contractors.
Paul Edlund, CEO of Hopkins-based J Benson Construction, one of the people of color-run contractors involved, sees CCC as an opportunity to "build and grow my capacity and scale my business," he said.
More than a plan, CCC has a team. It has enlisted the services of general contractors like Minneapolis-based Adolfson & Peterson Inc.; Kansas City, Mo.-based J.E. Dunn Construction Co.; St. Paul-based Trott-Binns Construction, as well as a number of specialized subcontractors. Minneapolis-based construction insurance company CSDZ, Minneapolis-based business law firm Maslon, and Minnetonka-based engineering and planning firm Sambatek have also joined the coalition. At the ready is also St. Paul consulting firm MaKee Co., run by Pingol, which specializes in helping minority-owned firms land contracts.
CCC is hoping to begin the process of assisting business owners as soon as possible and urges anyone interested in their help to contact them, Pingol said. The coalition is also seeking more contractors run by people of color to join the coalition, as well as donations, supplies and volunteers.
"What we have is the opportunity to build capacity, and that capacity-building has extraordinary benefits to the community," Baker said. "We have to create a stronger base and more force forward to grow more businesses, and this is the ultimate outcome we hope to bring about."