Calvin Williams (right) is pictured with Lansing, IL Mayor Patty Eidam. The mayor attended the annual Stand Up for Safety Awareness event in 2019 and received recognition for her support.

View of the completed East Chicago Housing Authority project in East Chicago, IN.

Beyond building top quality projects for his clients, Construction Contracting Services Inc. (CCSI) President and CEO Calvin Williams uses his influence within the construction field to bring awareness of diversity and equity. He strives to instigate positive changes for people of color across the industry.

Calvin founded CCSI, a general contracting construction consulting and advisory firm that specializes in vertical construction, in 2010, and has years of project management and corporate estimating experience in a variety of commercial construction sectors.

In addition to running his business, he has funneled his energy and talents into serving a number of organizations over the years—from chairing the contracting and construction committee at the Illinois State Black Chamber of Commerce from 2011 to 2017 to serving as board member for the Associated Builders and Contractors, board chairman of the Illinois chapter from 2014 to 2019, and on the National Executive Committee as Midwest Region vice chair 2020 to present.

He also served as chairman emeritus and a member of the board of directors at the Love, Unity and Values (LUV) Institute, a nonprofit whose mission is to inspire hope and empower underserved youth through economic opportunities, while building resiliency and social- emotional competencies.

“The volunteer work I’ve done represents my company. I feel it is important to bring the topic of equity, diversity and inclusion to the forefront to ensure that opportunities, access and resources are the same for everyone,” Calvin says.

Seeking Equity

Within a year of his 2010 CCSI launch, Calvin was bringing his voice to the building community. He joined multiple organizations for professional development, to network and to build his list of industry contacts, all while promoting diversity. “Right out of the gate, I started using my voice for equity, diversity and inclusion,” he says.

“Diversity to me—as a human being and as a Black man—is especially important. As a country, we don’t realize a lot of the disadvantages in which African Americans are being placed, from slavery to the subsequent systems that have prevented us from being taken into consideration for any number of things. This is more prevalent in the construction industry today than ever before.

“I’m not asking for handouts, but asking for equal opportunities,” Calvin emphasizes. “When it comes to the government and private sector work, Blacks and other underrepresented communities are often left out of the equation. It is not the same playing field as it is for white contractors.”

Because of that uneven playing field, Calvin says it is important that underrepresented communities have a voice. “For diversity and inclusion to occur, there must be equity,” Calvin says.

Making a Difference

Calvin’s dedication to equity and inclusion goes beyond the professional arena. In his leadership work with the LUV Institute, he continues to serve as a resource and consults with the executive director and current board chair.

This nonprofit serves the southside of Chicago in the Bronzeville and South Shore neighborhoods, providing job training and preparedness services for youth as young as 13 or 14, Calvin says.

“We work with young people through mostly government-funded programs with internships and help them understand how to succeed with a job,” he explains. “There are several programs including the Wreaths Of LUV, in which the young people focus on how to become an entrepreneur.”

The youth learn how to source the materials from suppliers, contract negotiation skills, and how to build, decorate and package the wreaths, he says. They also learn to sell them. They earn a stipend for their efforts, in addition to learning how to run a business.

Now in its eighth year, the LUV Institute also works with schools and hosts events for the youth to meet with business leaders to ask questions and even shadow business leaders in construction, education and technology firms to learn about their companies and industries, Calvin says.

“Many of these kids come from communities where they have no goals in life, and we demonstrate that there are options for them,” he says.

“I grew up in one of those neighborhoods. I didn’t have an opportunity like the LUV Institute offers, but I was blessed in different ways.”

Calvin says both of his parents worked, and while they weren’t middle class, they did OK. “I got where I am by the grace of God and some sound decision-making. I was determined to succeed,” he says.

From New Construction to Renovations

Calvin decided to form his own company while working as a project manager at Walsh Construction (part of The Walsh Group), a large national general contracting, construction management and design-build firm.

Based in Lansing, Illinois, CCSI is a general contractor and construction management firm for vertical construction projects ranging from new construction to renovations and restoration. Typical projects range around $2 million to $5 million for new construction, he says. Most projects are commercial or multifamily residential projects.

“The first project I completed from idea to finish was the Mocha City Beauty Lounge in 2010. The owner was a good friend of mine who was telling me about her concept of a beauty emporium that featured a café, hair salon, massage space, barber and a place to get nails and brows done. We sat down together and I sketched out a design on a napkin to bring her idea to life,” he says. “It did great for several years before circumstances caused her to close shop, but it was a special project.”

CCSI completed a renovation project at the University of Illinois College of Medicine Chicago campus that included three medical laboratories and one office. For the East Chicago Housing Authority, CCSI took on a new design-build project, creating a public housing project with seven townhomes on a single slab, as well as completing the renovation of 65 units for the Chicago Housing Authority.

A Focus on Safety

In addition to satisfying customer needs, Calvin says his team pays particular attention to safety. “Just like being an advocate for the less fortunate, it is very important that my people go home in the same shape they arrived,” he says.

“A couple of years ago, we decided to make a huge investment in time and money to enhance our safety training and PPE (personal protective equipment),” he says. “Beyond the basics of providing PPE and OSHA 10-hour training, we added additional safety training classes and reporting.” The big goal is to mitigate any exposure to injuries on the job sites, he says. To date, CCSI has not had an injury “because our guys pay attention to what they’re doing. The seasoned guys work with newer guys, and I go out to the projects to make sure they pay attention to what they’re wearing and how they’re being safe. We also make sure our subs have a safety program that we approve of,” Calvin says.

CCSI also teams up annually with The Blue Book Network®, The Home Depot, Honeywell, ABC Illinois, OSHA and the Village of Lansing among others to host a Stand Up for Safety Awareness event to educate and bring awareness of safety to the local businesses and community. The event was cancelled in 2020 because of COVID-19 restrictions, but he hopes to revive it later this year.

Looking Past COVID-19

COVID-19 impacted CCSI in a number of ways, including pushing projects back on the calendar, Calvin says.

“After 10 years in business, we’re trying to expand and grow, but we have been facing challenges with the pandemic as we try to keep our project pipeline filled. It has been kind of scary with a lot of businesses closing their doors. We have taken smaller jobs to keep the bills paid and keep our staff, but we are making adjustments and we anticipate hiring soon,” he says.

On the commercial side, Calvin says he has a client closing on a five-story office building where his team will complete extensive renovations. He has another client acquiring a 16,000-square-foot building that will also require renovations, and his team will convert it into a multitenant commercial property. Other opportunities would take CCSI into Wisconsin to work for a developer on the carpentry part of a 280-unit multifamily project spread across several locations. “This work currently fills our first quarter 2021 project log. There are many others to come,” he says.

“We have lots of opportunities, and we’ve been working with The Blue Book to be prepared,” Calvin says. “I’ve always been a believer that failure is not an option. We have to be agile and ready to learn and make appropriate changes.”

Running a business is not for the weak-hearted, Calvin says. But, for him, it has been rewarding to be able to make his own schedule and spend time with his children. “That has been far more important to me than working for someone else. I’ve had no regrets in leaving the corporate job. We have a pretty good life.”