What Lakeside Alliance does

Lakeside Alliance is a Chicago-based construction management joint venture formed in 2015 by four Black-owned construction firms — Powers & Sons Construction Company, UJAMAA Construction Inc., Brown & Momen, Inc., and Safeway Construction Company — together with Turner Construction Company as the fifth partner and prime contractor. The minority-owned firms collectively hold a 51% stake while Turner holds 49%, inverting the traditional minority-participation model where majority firms bring minority firms in as junior partners. The joint venture was formed specifically to pursue the Obama Presidential Center (OPC) project in Jackson Park on Chicago's South Side and was selected by the Obama Foundation in 2018 with a construction management contract valued at approximately $300 million.

The company's core offering is construction management services for the OPC, including project planning, subcontractor management, safety and quality oversight, cost and schedule control, and workforce coordination. Beyond the core construction mandate, Lakeside Alliance operates a suite of community-facing programs: the 'We Can Build It' pre-apprenticeship consortium with workforce partners such as Hire 360, Chicago Women in Trades, Revolution Workshop, and IBEW-NECA Technical Institute; the Lakeside Alliance Resource Center in Woodlawn providing career development workshops and apprenticeship information; and a transparent subcontractor bidding process with goals of 35% MBE, 10% WBE, and 5% other diverse business participation. As of 52% project completion in mid-2024, 52% of construction contracts had been awarded to diverse vendors and 32% of the workforce hired lived in Chicago's South and West Sides.

The business model is professional services-based, with revenue derived from construction management fees under the OPC contract. Pricing is contract-based and not publicly disclosed. The JV's go-to-market is enterprise field sales through a direct relationship with the Obama Foundation as the sole client, supplemented by subcontractor procurement and community engagement through the Resource Center. Distribution is exclusively domestic and concentrated in the Chicago metropolitan area. The Obama Presidential Center officially opened to the public on June 19, 2026, marking completion of the JV's primary construction mandate.

Name

Lakeside Alliance

Legal name

Lakeside Alliance

Website

https://lakesidealliance.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Lakeside Alliance is a Chicago-based construction management joint venture of four Black-owned firms and Turner Construction Company, formed to deliver the Obama Presidential Center and run related workforce development and community programs on Chicago's South Side.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Subcontractor pass-through costs (steel, concrete, plumbing, electrical, roofing, flooring, site work), Personnel (project management, DEI team of six, safety representatives, on-site staff), Operations (safety programs, OSHA compliance, daily site audits, bilingual training), Others (Woodlawn Resource Center facility operations and community engagement), Infrastructure (construction site facilities at Jackson Park)

Revenue model

1. Construction Management Services: Lakeside Alliance serves as the construction manager for the Obama Presidential Center, earning fees for managing the construction process. The contract was valued at approximately $300 million for the construction management portion. Revenue comes from professional services fees as the prime contractor overseeing all subcontractor work on the project.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Lakeside Alliance is a construction management joint venture that served as the builder of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago's Jackson Park, overseeing safety, quality, cost, and schedule for the entire project. The venture provides transparent subcontractor procurement with at least 50% of contracts awarded to diverse businesses, operates a Woodlawn Resource Center for community workforce access, and runs workforce development and apprenticeship programs (including the "We Can Build It" initiative) to create career pathways for South and West Side Chicago residents.

Product overview

Lakeside Alliance is a construction management joint venture between five firms—Powers & Sons Construction, UJAMAA Construction, Brown & Momen, Safeway Construction, and Turner Construction—formed specifically to build the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago. The company offers construction management services for the project, workforce development programs through its We Can Build It initiative, a Resource Center for community access and career development, diversity and inclusion consulting with specific participation goals for minority-owned businesses, a transparent subcontractor bidding platform, and community engagement services. The company is not a technology product company but rather a construction consortium focused on the Obama Presidential Center project.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Construction Management Services for the Obama Presidential Center Full construction management for the Obama Presidential Center campus in Jackson Park, Chicago, with responsibility for safety, quality, cost, and schedule management, delivered for the Obama Foundation as primary client.
• Lakeside Alliance Resource Center Services Community access point in Woodlawn providing career development workshops, apprenticeship program information, and direct access to Lakeside Alliance and Obama Foundation representatives for South Side Chicago residents.
• Subcontractor Bid Package Procurement Transparent subcontractor procurement process for the Obama Presidential Center, releasing bid packages across scopes including structural steel, concrete, plumbing, electrical, roofing, and flooring, with at least 50% of packages targeted to diverse businesses (35% MBE, 10% WBE, 5% other diverse).

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• U.S. Department of Labor OSHAcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 November 2021OSHA signed a strategic partnership with Lakeside Alliance to prevent serious hazards and enhance workplace safety and health practices for workers constructing the Obama Presidential Center. The partnership includes daily audits, site-specific safety orientation, and bilingual training.
• Emerald South Economic Development CollaborativeminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 September 2021Economic development organization partnered with the Obama Foundation to invest in Chicago's South Side. Launched Terra Firma, a 5-year $25 million land care initiative.
• Hire 360coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Workforce development organization and partner in the We Can Build It Consortium, helping train and place local residents in construction jobs at the Obama Presidential Center.
• Chicago Women in TradescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Nonprofit helping prepare women for construction careers through pre-apprenticeship programs like We Can Build It, supporting female workers on the OPC project.
• Revolution WorkshopminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Workforce development organization partnering with Lakeside Alliance and the Obama Foundation to train apprentices from South and West Side communities.
• IBEW-NECA Technical InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Joint apprenticeship and training institution providing electrical trade training for workers seeking employment on the OPC project.
• Obama FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 January 2018The Obama Foundation is the primary client and strategic partner for Lakeside Alliance on the Obama Presidential Center project. The Foundation selected Lakeside Alliance as the construction manager in 2018 after a competitive process. The partnership is guided by shared commitments to diversity, community impact, and workforce development on Chicago's South Side.
• Turner Construction CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTurner Construction Company is the fifth member of the Lakeside Alliance joint venture, selected by the four Black-owned firms as the prime contractor partner. Turner is one of the nation's largest construction companies and brings scale and expertise to complement the minority-owned firms.
• Powers & Sons Construction CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBlack-owned construction firm led by Mamon Powers Jr., one of the architects of the Lakeside Alliance model. Powers & Sons is the Gary, Indiana-based company that initiated the concept of forming a minority-led consortium to pursue the Obama Presidential Center project.
• UJAMAA Construction Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBlack-owned construction firm and founding member of the Presidential Partners consortium that formed Lakeside Alliance. UJAMAA has over 40 years of experience in Chicago construction.
• Brown & Momen, Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBlack-owned construction firm and founding member of the Presidential Partners consortium. President Ernest Brown is quoted on the Lakeside Alliance website about doing everything with purpose.
• Safeway Construction CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBlack-owned construction firm and founding member of the Presidential Partners consortium that formed Lakeside Alliance to build the Obama Presidential Center.
• Illinois On-Site Safety and Health Consultation ProgramminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the OSHA strategic partnership to provide safety consultation services for the Obama Presidential Center construction site.
• Chicago Regional Council of CarpentersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLabor union partner participating in the OSHA strategic partnership for worker safety on the OPC project.
• Laborers District CouncilminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLabor union partner in the OSHA strategic partnership for the Obama Presidential Center construction site.
• Plumbers Local 130minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlumbing trade union partner in the OSHA strategic partnership for worker safety at OPC.
• Electrical Workers Local 134minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerElectrical trade union partner participating in the OSHA strategic partnership for the OPC project.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Turner Construction Company: 49% JV partner and prime contractor on the Obama Presidential Center; one of the largest U.S. general contractors with extensive civic, cultural, and commercial project experience. Directly comparable as a major institutional builder with overlapping target clients and project types.
• Mortenson Construction: Major U.S. general contractor with a strong civic, cultural, and sports-venue portfolio including the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Comparable as a builder of landmark, mission-driven projects at similar scale and complexity.
• Gilbane Building Company: Family-owned national builder with significant civic, educational, and public-private portfolio. Comparable in business model (employee-owned, mission-oriented) and target client segments to Lakeside Alliance.
• Clark Construction Group: Large national contractor with deep public-sector and cultural-project experience. Comparable to Lakeside Alliance in scale of work, federal/institutional client base, and complex mixed-use civic delivery.

Regional players

• McHugh Construction: Chicago-based contractor with deep local civic and high-rise experience. Comparable as a regional peer competing for the same Chicago institutional client base and union-trade workforce.
• Walsh Construction: Chicago-headquartered general contractor with deep institutional and public-sector presence across the Midwest. Directly comparable in geography, civic-project track record, and union-trade relationships.

Broad incumbents

• Hensel Phelps: Large national general contractor with a strong portfolio of civic, aviation, and commercial projects. Comparable as a similarly scaled institutional builder competing for the same marquee public and private projects.
• Skanska USA: U.S. arm of a global construction firm with major civic and infrastructure work. Comparable as an established incumbent competing for large, complex institutional builds.
• Lendlease: Global developer and contractor with an explicit public commitment to diversity, inclusion, and community outcomes. Comparable as a large incumbent that competes for civic and mixed-use projects where mission alignment is part of the procurement.
• Balfour Beatty US: Major U.S. general contractor with significant civic, transportation, and commercial work. Comparable in scale, target clients, and complexity of project delivery.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCULR1apu-oVm-58Bjg2ImgQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/LakesideAlliance1750

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Lakeside Alliance