91视频

One of the first local examples of a large, white-owned construction company partnering with a minority-owned firm appears to have run its course.

Colas Construction will partner with a firm other than R&H Construction 鈥� Andersen Construction 鈥� for a big upcoming public project: the $85 million Grant High School modernization.

Representatives from both Colas and R&H say their parting was amicable, and that they achieved their goals over the joint venture’s planned five-year life span.

The arrangement helped both sides weather the recession, R&H principal Norm Dowty said.

鈥淲e mentored each other in various ways and it was quite successful,鈥� he said.

Andersen head David Andersen and Colas founder Hermann Colas are longtime friends, said Andrew Colas, company president and Hermann’s son.

The Colas-Andersen partnership has been official with the Oregon secretary of state’s office since 2013. But the Grant High School project is by far the largest the joint venture has taken on.

鈥淚t’s always been a thing where, if we saw the right opportunity and the right project, we’d look at partnering,鈥� Andrew Colas said.

R&H, a top-10 Portland construction firm according to local gross billings for 2013, was rocked by scandal this past November when its CEO, John Bradley, was arrested at his home following a domestic violence-related incident. Bradley has been on medical leave since December, though he still heads the company, Dowty said.

Andersen has been one of the busiest Portland firms through the current building boom. The company’s website lists 26 active projects.

Calls to Andersen were not returned.

Joint venture partnerships like Colas-R&H and another prominent one 鈥� O’Neill Construction Group and Walsh Construction 鈥� are seen as mutually-beneficial arrangements that allow larger, often white-owned companies to help reach minority participation targets, and allow smaller, minority-owned firms to access larger projects and other opportunities.

The O’Neill-Walsh joint venture began as O’Neill was coming to the end of an eight-year agreement with the federal government. Company representatives said the joint venture provided Walsh with connections in the DMWESB world, and gave O’Neill access to financing that allowed it to continue growing.

The original charter for O’Neill-Walsh specified the partnership would last six years, meaning in 2018 the parties will evaluate whether it should continue.

鈥淲e think it’s absolutely been a big success,鈥� Walsh general manager and vice president Mike Steffen said. 鈥淚t’s worked out nicely.鈥�