“With another business opening downtown we can see Bridgeport is getting better every day. We are creating jobs, growing our economy, and improving our downtown to revitalize the Park City.” – Mayor Bill Finch
WHO: Mayor Bill Finch, President of Construction Management Systems of America LLC (CMSA) Vernon Austin, Jr., and City Council members.
WHAT: Ribbon cutting ceremony for CMSA’s new Bridgeport office Ø WHEN: Wednesday at 2:00 p.m.
WHERE: 1000 Lafayette Blvd, #1127, Bridgeport, Conn.
Bridgeport, Conn. (July 1, 2015) – Today, Mayor Bill Finch will celebrate the grand opening of Construction Management Systems of America (CMSA), a minority owned company registered with the City of Bridgeport’s Small & Minority Business Resource Office (SMBRO.)
CMSA is moving from Waterbury, CT to 1000 Lafayette Boulevard in Bridgeport, CT.
“With another business opening downtown we can see Bridgeport is getting better every day,” said Mayor Finch. “We are creating jobs, growing our economy, and improving our downtown to revitalize the Park City. I would like to thank Vernon Austin, Jr. for believing in Bridgeport and the City of Bridgeport’s Small & Minority Business Resource Office for supporting CMSA.”
CMSA was started in 2009 in Waterbury and is relocating to Bridgeport with the intention of helping the city grow and to give back to the Park City. President Vernon Austin, Jr. was born in Bridgeport and his father Vernon Austin was born and raised here.
“My family’s roots are here in Bridgeport and we are proud to be a part of growing and developing the city,” said CMSA President Vernon Austin, Jr. “We understand Mayor Finch wants to revitalize Bridgeport, help the inner city community, and create new jobs. We want to be partners with him in doing that and to give back to Bridgeport.”
Created in 2008, one of Mayor Finch's first initiatives after being elected, the Small and Minority Business Resource Office (SMBRO) provides training and connections for entrepreneurs to create businesses and compete for city contracts, such as school construction projects. Since that time, the city has hired its first African-American construction manager for a school project and seen four minority owned businesses create joint ventures with established firms.
Recently, through the efforts of SMBRO, more than $50 million has been awarded to small, minority and women-owned businesses on our four most recent school construction projects. On these four construction projects - Black Rock Elementary School, Fairchild Wheeler Magnet High School, Roosevelt Elementary School and Longfellow Elementary School - 100 out of 101 subcontracting opportunities were awarded to minority or women-owned businesses.