On January 23, 2025, the City of Philadelphia and the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) – in partnership with the Labor District Council (LDC), Contractors Association of Eastern Pennsylvania (CAEP), WTS Philadelphia, Everybody Builds, and SupplyPHL – hosted an infrastructure industry networking event, Building Bridges.
The event brought together prime contractors and subcontractors to foster meaningful connections and explore potential partnerships for upcoming public works bids. Building Bridges reiterates the City’s commitment to growing the availability and capacity of Philadelphia’s historically underutilized businesses as contractors.
The City of Philadelphia’s Infrastructure Solutions Team (IST) is working to increase the conditions for generational wealth to be built, preserved, and grown for Philadelphians through the strategic use of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funding. To date, City of Philadelphia agencies have been awarded approximately $751M in BIL discretionary funding. Approximately $5.4M is included in these total amounts for workforce development to train and retain workers on certain infrastructure projects. It is imperative that there are procurement strategies in place that benefit local and diverse businesses.
“The City needs an ‘all hands on deck’ approach from our contracting community to deliver on the multitude of infrastructure Philadelphia is poised to construct in the coming years,” said Michael Carroll, Deputy Managing Director, Transportation and Infrastructure. “We are encouraged to see the number of businesses here who are ready to make new connections and get to work.”
Building Bridges is especially timely as the City commemorated Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on January 20, 2025. The City is honoring Dr. King’s legacy by ensuring that minority-owned and historically underutilized businesses have equitable access to the economic opportunities created by increased infrastructure spending.
At the event attendees were introduced to SupplyPHL’s business advisory services, which aim to strengthen the capacity of historically underutilized businesses to participate in public works projects in Philadelphia. SupplyPHL soft launched in 2024 and is currently supporting an initial group of 15 firms.
“SupplyPHL has been instrumental in helping LSN gain access to new clients, resulting in additional projects that have significantly expanded our backlog. Through their network, we have connected with organizations seeking reliable contractors, allowing us to showcase our expertise and secure new business opportunities,” said Randy Washington, President and CEO of LSN Contractors and Construction Managers, one of the firms working with SupplyPHL. Randy also spoke at the event to discuss his experience working with SupplyPHL thus far. “The platform has also facilitated key introductions to industry leaders, opening doors to future partnerships that align with our growth strategy. These connections have strengthened our presence in the market and positioned us for sustained success.”
SupplyPHL is a public-private partnership between the City of Philadelphia and three nonprofits – The Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, Urban League of Philadelphia, and The Enterprise Center.
For more information, visit https://www.supplyphl.com/.
The Infrastructure Solutions Team 2025 Report and Action Plan will be released in the coming weeks outlining how the City is using infrastructure investments to grow generational wealth for Philadelphians.
