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It’s indisputable that women and people of color are underrepresented in the architecture, construction and engineering industries. However, regional government agency Metro is engaged in efforts to help change that by bringing on a number of minority-owned firms in important projects.

One notable example is the current to modernize the 30-year-old building’s public areas and establish a better visitor experience. A in 2017 to Colas Construction to serve as construction manager-general contractor; it was the largest public contract in Oregon ever earned by a minority-owned firm.

鈥淲e competed against some of the biggest teams in town,鈥� Colas Construction CEO and President Andrew Colas said in reference to Hoffman Construction and Walsh Construction. 鈥淭hat in itself was an exciting win.鈥�

Colas Construction is a family affair. The firm was founded in 1997 by Andrew’s father, Hermann Colas Jr., who moved to the United States from Haiti in 1969. Andrew’s sister Aneshka Colas-Dickson serves as vice president and chief financial officer, and their brother Alex Colas is a project manager.

Another minority-owned firm, Raimore Construction, is also involved in the Oregon Convention Center project. It’s primarily working on the exterior.

鈥淲e’ve been able to start breaking that glass ceiling,鈥� Andrew Colas said. 鈥淭here’s no reason there can’t be 100, 200 other firms like us.鈥�

Two others are serving Metro. When Portland’5 Centers for the Arts sought a roof replacement for Hatfield Hall, a building that contains several theatre venues, general contractor Pacificmark Construction and roofing/waterproofing company Sterling-Pacific, both minority-owned businesses, earned the contracts.

Nancy Strening, a Portland’5 project manager, said the organization has been trying to find ways to get more minority-owned firms involved in its projects, and has recently been working with the National Association of Minority Contractors (NAMC) in this regard. Historically, one of the hiring challenges, she said, has been that Portland’5 has had to abide by government regulations to accept the lowest bidder.

Strening said there was an argument to be made that using minority-owned firms is still in the public interest, because having diverse perspectives on a project is always beneficial. The hiring process was very competitive, and the two firms that earned the contracts were the best choice, she said.

鈥淧rice and value aren’t always the same thing,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 think we are getting better results; I don’t think we are sacrificing anything.鈥�

One of the main barriers to entry for minority-owned contractors, Strening said, is that many of the older, larger and more established firms (mostly white-owned), have entire teams of administrators able to secure subcontractors and bid on many projects. Nascent minority-owned firms might not have staff dedicated to outreach, and might not even know about some of the projects available.

Nevertheless, Metro’s efforts have been noticed by at least some members of Portland’s building industries.

鈥淚 would put them kind of at the top,鈥� Andrew Colas said. 鈥淚t’s been really important for us to have a strong partnership.鈥�

Ray Leary, commissioner of the Metropolitan Exposition Recreation Commission (MERC), a division of Metro, said the agency does perhaps more than any other government entity in Oregon to increase opportunities. MERC’s job is to protect investment in the Expo Center, the Oregon Convention Center, and Portland’5, which he said is especially important right now.

With more conventions scheduled than ever before, Metro’s venues are a welcome mat to the rest of the world, Leary said, and there is a responsibility to utilize Portland’s diverse workforce when improving these spaces.

鈥淗istorically, the city of Portland does not have an enviable record in terms of opportunities,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 believe (Metro) will ultimately be the leadership in integrating people of color into the economic opportunities that our government manages and facilitates.鈥�

Nate McCoy, executive director of NAMC-Oregon, said Metro has been making huge strides in the past few years. While he would like to see greater diversity in the agency’s leadership, he said the kind of projects they’ve been contracting for are what take minority-owned firms to the next level in terms of business and size.

NAMC-Oregon has partnered with Metro on many of its biggest contracts, and McCoy echoed Strening when commenting on the difficulty smaller firms have in marketing themselves to subcontractors. NAMC’s partnership with Metro has alleviated some of that, because NAMC-Oregon can brings its members directly into contact with the agency.

McCoy said the partnership with Metro has been strong, and the fruits of their labor have already begun to show.

鈥淭hey’re willing to take risks and be bold about these concerns,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey’ve taken those steps to show that they’re listening and responding.鈥�