Columbus airport expansion an opportunity for minority, women, veterans

Construction of the new terminal at John Glenn Columbus International Airport is expected to be completed in 2029.

Stephanie Hightower is the president & CEO of the Columbus Urban League.

One of the most exciting and rewarding services provided by the Columbus Urban League is our work to shore up and build up entrepreneurs.

Last year alone, our small business initiatives connected with more than 8,200 people, helping launch nearly 1,600 new businesses and secure nearly $7 million in financing and contracts.

Whether a justice-involved person has an eye for lawn care, a woman has a passion for exotic teas or a former missionary has discovered an amazing brand of east African coffee; whether it’s a side hustle, solo practice or S-Corp — our team loves to seed, cultivate and nurture small businesses owned by women, veterans and people of color.

New opportunities at for minorities, women and veterans at Columbus airport

Supporting these businesses creates new jobs and grows wealth in all communities. As central Ohio enters our next economic phase as the “Silicon Heartland,” opportunities should abound for these fledgling enterprises.

Opportunity represents one of many reasons why we’re strongly supporting the expansion work underway at John Glenn Columbus International Airport. The Columbus Regional Airport Authority is creating a new one million square-foot terminal, amounting to as much as a $2 billion expansion.

More about the plans for John Glenn:Columbus airport plans to relocate taxiway to make way for new terminal

Those who weren’t invited or don’t know how to find their way into the room where decisions are made, those who have confronted closed doors or found themselves slammed against glass ceilings understand how profoundly important it is that entities like the Columbus Regional Airport Authority are pressing hard to involve minority, veteran and women-owned small businesses in their expansion.

A minimum of 25% of contracts to small, minority, women and veteran-owned businesses

I can count up to two billion reasons why this matters. There are numerous benefits of what this project could mean to some of the entities we serve.

A family-owned trucking business could score its first contract in the aviation industry and gain the stability in revenues required to expand their fleet and workforce.

An eight-year-old trucking and demolition company could use their first substantial contract to hire more local workers and as a proof point to secure other large-scale projects.

A 30-person, nearly 20-year-old construction firm earns work that highlights their expertise and commitment to environmental stewardship and social responsibility, leading to more eco-friendly contracts in the future.

Those are just some of the potential direct and indirect outcomes of the Columbus Regional Airport Authority’s investments.

And, so far, their construction managers, Hensel Phelps and Elford, are doing their part to realize the dreams of often disadvantaged vendors. They set a goal to award a minimum of 25% of contracts to small, minority, women and veteran-owned entities.

Their goal is becoming a reality.

The first of their six construction bid packages, totaling $250 million, sets aside nearly one third of the work to be awarded to companies like those we serve.

Everyone benefits from small business inclusion

As America looks to strengthen our economy and grow our GDP, Black business ownership is now growing at its fastest pace in 30 years. The share of Black households owning a business doubled between 2019 and 2022. In fact, the fastest growing segment of entrepreneurs today is Black women.

This success feeds other successes too.

Black wealth has risen a record 60% since before the pandemic. Black unemployment has reached historic lows.

I take all of these as indicators of resilience as well. When doors are opened, people will walk, run or push on through. We saw many clients who lost jobs or couldn’t find childcare during the pandemic, so they took a risk and started something new.

Columbus still has plenty of work to do

Less positive is an analysis by the Brookings Institute that ranked Columbus nearly dead-last among 54 cities for racial inclusion, finding our community among the worst in poverty and unemployment rates among people of color.

A study recently shared by Duwain Pinder of McKinsey & Company’s Columbus office tells us that if we do not accelerate our progress toward a healthier inclusive economy, it will take more than 700 years to close the prosperity gap that exists today.

We can prevent it:700 years to equality. Blacks lag 100s of years behind white when it comes to prosperity.

Against this backdrop, we see again why the Columbus Regional Airport Authority’s commitment matters. This isn’t about hand-outs or carve outs. It’s about understanding how to include all vendors in a process that for many seemed impenetrable, if not impossible.

The Columbs Urban League will do everything our team can to encourage all small businesses to compete for these contracts and, in so doing, grow, expand and fully participate in a stronger economy for everyone.

Stephanie Hightower is the president & CEO of the Columbus Urban League.

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