$45 million dollar man

The SRS vies to be stakeholder in most costly construction project ever built in Nashville
Nashville Buisness Journal-May 28,2008
The new Music City Center convention facility is sure to put a new face on downtown Nashville.
Likewise, extensive planning regarding the proposed center has put a new face and renewed attention on Metro Government's hiring goals related to minority-owned businesses.
One of the businesses looking to make a significant impact, specifically on Music City Center, is SRS Inc., the largest black-owned construction management company in Middle Tennessee.
Since early 2008, SRS has been awarded construction management contracts for projects valued at about $45 million, according to Dewayne Scott, the Gallatin-based company's president and CEO.
The projects in Tennessee and the Southeast add to the firm's portfolio of more than 100 projects completed for government and commercial clients since its founding in 2001.
The Metro Development and Housing Agency plans to award a contract by late July to one of three multi-company teams that have bid to be the builder of the convention center in downtown's SoBro -- or South of Broadway -- district.
SRS is aligned with Nashville-based Hardaway Construction Corp., Atlanta-based H.J. Russell & Co. -- the nation's largest black-owned construction company -- and Hunt Construction Group of Indianapolis.
SRS is "at risk with the bonding, just like Hunt Hardaway and Russell," says Scott. "It's a true
joint venture."
That means SRS would enjoy any profit with the convention center construction effort or eat any loss according to its joint venture ownership percentage.
To bolster minority participation on the project, Scott says the SRS team recently held four workshops for minority and disadvantaged businesses. The workshops have covered marketing strategies, accounting, financing and bonding/insurance.

"We will continue such efforts if awarded the contract but also aggressively recruit M/W/DBE (minority, women and disadvantaged business enterprises) companies by trade package during our preconstruction process," Scott says.
Trade packages refer to subcontracting jobs broken down by expertise, such as mechanical or electrical. Scott says the team would also "unbundle certain trade packages" to increase minority participation and success.
"If a trade package winner is not an M/W/DBE, we will ensure that they have M/W/DBE participation by way of second-tier subcontractors or suppliers via teaming relationships or mentor-protégé type arrangements," he says.
Though SRS has not worked on a convention center project, the company has built various civic buildings through governmental agencies, including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The government contracts, in part, helped quickly elevate the profile of the 7-year-old, fully bonded company, Scott says.
SRS is growing rapidly but is still considered a certified 8(a) small disadvantaged business by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
"We are also certified as a HUBZone business by the SBA, meaning that our principal offices are located in a historically underutilized business zone," Scott says.
Stan Hardaway, president of a construction company bearing his last name, met with SRS officials a few months ago. The results of
that meeting, in part, led to the alliance.
"We were impressed with the set-up of SRS...the fact that they truly wanted to be contractors and not just a minority-owned company that would obtain a contract and turn around and sub everything right back out to other subcontractors," Hardaway says.