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Mike Bellamy took a risk when he left a life he loved in Italy to manage construction of the National Museum of African American History and Culture on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

And Wednesday evening at the National Association of Minority Contractors‘ conference in Portland, the director of the Smithsonian’s Office of Design, Engineering and Construction asked the minority contractors in attendance to also take a risk on the project.

The federal project will be built using a construction manager at-risk model with a guaranteed maximum price. That means the construction manager/general contractor that wins the project will set a fixed amount for the project up front. If the company exceeds that amount, it will become responsible for cost overruns. And with a federally mandated completion deadline in 2015, there’s no room for mistakes.

“Because this project uses both federal and private funding, delays in receiving that funding could impact design and construction timelines,” Bellamy said. “Any work on the mall goes through numerous agencies to provide comment on the design, which could cause added cost due to schedule delays.”

Despite the challenges Bellamy presented, NAMC Oregon Chapter President Maurice Rahming said the project is a promising opportunity for members of his organization. Contractors bidding on the 350,000-square-foot project will be required to have a Small Business Administration subcontracting program, which will ensure that the bulk of the work will be performed by minority firms.

The project being presented to NAMC first, Rahming said, shows how far his organization has come.

“The Smithsonian has had high utilization of minority firms in its projects in the past,” Rahming said. “There are several general contractors in the room tonight with billings greater than a quarter-billion dollars that could get the job done.”

Bellamy’s honesty about the risk involved with the project is warranted, NAMC Executive Director Tina Dortch said. The museum has a $500 million program, including design, construction and exhibits. It will be located next to the Washington Monument, on a site that was once used for slave trading.

Workers will need to contend with traffic-heavy conditions around the mall. Also, a portion of the museum will be located underground. The area has a high water table, so contractors must take care not to disturb it and turn the Washington Monument into the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Bellamy said.

And if Portland firms want a piece of the action, they’ll have to compete with NAMC’s Washington, D.C. branch.

“Budgets for projects like this have to be tight,” Dortch said. “(Bellamy) is being really honest about the challenges. But the opportunities he’s presenting are fabulous. Firms outside of D.C. could participate as well, but our chapter could easily offer up enough experience.”

Hermann Colas, owner of Portland’s Colas Construction, doesn’t know how likely it is that his firm will be chosen to help build the museum, but the fact that a federal project of this magnitude was pitched to NAMC floored him.

“I joined the U.S. Army because I believed in the promise of this country,” Colas said. “To have this man from the Smithsonian come here with a project of this importance, I don’t know how to express how that feels.”

A contractor won’t be selected until summer 2011, but the museum project already has significant minority participation, Bellamy said. The architectural team of Freelon Adjaye Bond and SmithGroup is led by architect David Adjaye, a native of Tanzania. And the construction management agent for the museum, McKissack & McKissack, is an African-American firm.

Firms interested in pursuing work on the National Museum of African American History and Culture can contact Rudy Watley, manager of the supplier diversity program for the Smithsonian, at 202-633-6430.