From the Wiscsonin State Journal

By KAREN RIVEDAL | krivedal@madison.com | 608-252-6106

When the Urban League of Greater Madison moves into its new home on Park Street next week, the nonprofit's mission of community outreach and support will be echoed in the building's very walls, door frames and brick facings.

Those are the main portions of the total $2.8 million building project completed by Urban Construction, a small, minority-owned subcontractor based in south Madison and mentored by the project's general contractor, Tri-North Builders of Fitchburg.

During the eight-month construction project, Tri-North provided the smaller company with help in site management, accounting and streamlining of their business practices. Tri-North experts even taught Charles Harris, vice president of Urban Construction, a more sophisticated method of estimating costs for future jobs they might bid on together, and they helped Urban Construction lease or buy some of the tools it needed.

"They've been real helpful," said DeAngelo Jackson, president of Urban Construction, who graduated from Madison East High School in 1979 and UW-Madison in 1983. "They made sure we stayed on track and didn't lose money on the job."

To Urban League interim President Ed Lee, the unusual mentoring relationship was a great expression of the organization's signature programs for minority and low-income people, including offerings that focus on career training, college readiness and homeownership.