The Black Family Who Built America

McKissack & McKissack is the oldest minority-owned professional design and construction firm in the United States. A family-owned business for more than 120 years, the firm provides a wide range of services to a variety of government agencies, municipalities, private institutions, industries, designers and developers, and attributes its longevity and success to the talented, service-oriented professionals that comprise the McKissack organization.

Cheryl McKissack Daniel, the company's President and CEO, examines the key issues impacting American infrastructure, including tariffs, and details the new book about her family's story, The Black Family Who Built America: The McKissacks, Two Centuries of Daring Pioneers. Cheryl speaks with Tim Stenovec and Carol Massar on Bloomberg Businessweek Daily.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio news.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
You're listening to Bloomberg BusinessWeek with Carol Masser and Tim
Stenoveek on Bloomberg Radio.

Speaker 1 (00:14):
Earlier in our program, we want to kind of go
back to getting a good idea of what's going on
in the US economy, and early in our program, we
spoke with billionaire developer Rick Caruso. He's founder and executive
chair of Caruso, and he did talk about the economy,
particularly in southern California.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
Tim, we wanted to continue with the building and the
economy and bring back Cheryl McKissick Daniels. She's President CEO
of Mickissick and McKissick. It's the one hundred and twenty
year old company that plays everywhere when it comes to
construction management, disaster recovery and resilience, program management, compliance and more.
The company works in the academic, aviation, healthcare, and transportation,
park stadiums and more. Think about the Barkley Center, Oculus

(00:54):
here in Manhattan, the new Terminal one over at JFK,
the Lincoln Financial Field where the Philadelphia Eagles play, and
so much more. Cheryl McKissick Daniel joins us from New York. Cheryl,
Welcome back. It's been more than two years since you
were last on the program. How are you.

Speaker 3 (01:11):
I'm terrific, Thank you well, Thanks.

Speaker 2 (01:13):
So much for joining us. I want to start by
just getting an understanding from you about the economy, where
it is in your view and if people are spending money.

Speaker 3 (01:24):
I think people are holding back a little bit of
prices are high. I know as far as the construction industry,
we are beginning to fill some of the tariffs, and
so yeah, I think people are holding back on spending.

Speaker 2 (01:39):
Talk a little bit about where you're feeling the tariffs.

Speaker 3 (01:44):
Well, one in particular, I would say is JFK Terminal One.
We're finishing up Phase A of that project, which is
almost three million square feet in twenty twenty six, but
we are scheduled to start work on Phase B and

(02:05):
that's been pushed out, I believe because of tourism is
not U has decreased quite a bit to New York City.

Speaker 1 (02:15):
Wow, how much has it been pushed out?

Speaker 3 (02:19):
Well, right now, it's just slowed and it's been pushed
out several months.

Speaker 1 (02:24):
Where else are you seeing that too? In terms of
projects that you guys are working on, Because Your portfolio
is just vast and you cover, like we said, academia,
just so many different kind of commercial aspects. Where else
are things maybe being slowed down pushed out?

Speaker 3 (02:41):
Well, I mean I can only talk about the areas
where we work, which is in rail and transportation. You know,
the FTA I think has slowed on releasing projects. As
you know, several of their staff, more than i'd say
fifty percent staff has been released, and so it was

(03:06):
very difficult for them to push out the capital program
projects that they do have. And so you know, the
Gateway seems to be moving ahead just fine.

Speaker 2 (03:20):
And this is the Gateway tunnel between New York and
New Jersey.

Speaker 3 (03:25):
Yes, okay, yes, yes, and I just prayer that that continues.

Speaker 2 (03:30):
Well, let's I just want to contextualize that a single
project of yours, this is the terminal one at JFK
International Airport. It's a nine and a half billion dollars
in value project. Your firm is working specifically on the
oversight of project management, construction management. As a government liaison.
You also handle community outreach, so it really runs the

(03:52):
gamut of what you're working on. Can you give us
an idea of the pipeline not necessarily projects that have
been announced or where the shovel is in the ground,
but projects that you're talking to municipalities about, projects that
you're talking to academic institutions about that you're not necessarily
ready to announce. But give us a good idea of

(04:12):
what that pipeline looks like in terms of how these
entities are ready to spend.

Speaker 3 (04:20):
Well, I think you know it's it's positive when we
think about infrastructure projects, waterfront projects with New York City
Economic Development Corporation, I believe the MTA projects are eventually
going to move forward. I think the big frontier is

(04:41):
some of the micro trips manufacturing plants like Micron that's
upstate New York. That's one hundred billion dollars. It's moving forward.
And then right after that, I think it'll be the casinos.
Once a casino owner, once the three licensing licenses are awarded,

(05:03):
do you think you'll see starting there and that will
be billions of dollars.

Speaker 2 (05:07):
Do you think New York City will get one of
these licenses?

Speaker 3 (05:14):
Who knows? You know, if I had to bid on it,
I would say probably not in Manhattan.

Speaker 2 (05:20):
Outside of Manhattan, so that would be maybe Queen's near
the area close to city Field.

Speaker 3 (05:25):
Yeah, okay, queens, Yeah, well absolutely.

Speaker 1 (05:31):
Cheryl talk to us about the environment. And you know,
as you mentioned, about what's going on in terms of
various government officials or departments that you know, we're official
where folks have been let go, and so what that
is doing to different projects, the political environment, the federal
political environment. You know, we talk about whether administrations, you know,

(05:57):
are good for the business environment or not. And we
do have folks who come on and say that this
is an administration that's going to cut back some of
the regulatory issues and make it easier better. Is it
not making it better easier for what you do?

Speaker 3 (06:15):
I don't see evidence of that. You know, if you
don't have people sitting behind the desk to actually push
the workout, I don't see it getting better. And you know,
I have to shift to our energy crisis that can
potentially happen. You know now that the administration has really

(06:38):
sunset all of the offshore and onshore win projects that
we terribly need to supplement our electrical systems. So I
am very concerned about where we are headed.

Speaker 2 (06:54):
We're speaking right now with Cheryl McKissick Daniel, President CEO
of mckissic and McKissick. You mentioned the offshore when Bloomberg
New Energy Finance Bloombergetti aff reporting that US offshore wind
faces a twenty eight billion dollar hole. With President Trump's
moves five under construction, US offshore wind farms, representing about

(07:15):
twenty eight billion dollars of committed capital, faced severe delays
and even cancelation after recent actions from the Trump administration.
At mckissic and McKissick, do you work on offshore wind?

Speaker 3 (07:27):
We do not work on offshore wind, But I am
a board of advisor for National Grid and so I
understand how critical these other resources are to our grid.
You know, there's a high demand for electricity. Buildings that
are being constructed now are one hundred percent electric. We

(07:50):
have the ev cars, we have the data centers, and
so electricity is critical for us, and I believe well
we definitely were counting on these wind forms as another
strong resource to help us supply electricity. We need.

Speaker 1 (08:08):
You sound so pretty negative. No, I don't mean negative,
but down on the environment. And I guess we were
really looking forward to talking to you because we're trying
to get an idea of the way forward in an
environment where there's a lot of presidential pressure to cut
interest rates, and there's some who say, well, wait a minute,
the economy is doing just fine. We don't need that.

(08:30):
I'm just trying to understand is it just the overall
environment because of politics or is it higher rates?

Speaker 3 (08:39):
Like?

Speaker 1 (08:39):
What is it that you think is causing kind of
the biggest issues for you?

Speaker 3 (08:47):
I think it's politics.

Speaker 1 (08:50):
Well do you feel do you feel targeted? Can I
ask you as as the owner of a minority owner
of a business.

Speaker 3 (08:58):
No, I don't feel targeted personally. You know, I think
for some reason, there's a focus on DEI programs, and
you know, it has not affected our business in New York,
but it has affected our businesses in other states where

(09:19):
municipalities have had to suspend their D and I programs
if they wanted to get funding from the federal government.
And so that is somewhat of a concern. Now. I
hope that we continue to be isolated from that in
New York. I don't know how much longer that will last.

Speaker 1 (09:39):
Do you get?

Speaker 2 (09:39):
You know, on the website, I noticed the firm is
referred to as quote the oldest minority women owned professional
design and construction firm in the United States. Do you
ever consider because of the political environment that we're in
right now, not necessarily highlighting that.

Speaker 3 (09:57):
No, I do not feel that way. That's what I
recently wrote my book, The Black Family Who Built America.
I'm so glad that it's coming out in this time
and in this age, because it is an account of
our family history. After two hundred years when the first
descent of our family came to this country in latest

(10:19):
first brick, we are still here and we are an
unshakable pillar of ingenuity and resilience. And this book is
all about saying, you know, this is a receipt to
say that we've always been here and we're not going anywhere.
Black excellence may have been ignored, but that doesn't mean

(10:40):
it's not here.

Speaker 2 (10:41):
Cheryl, you got to come back and join us. It's
great to have you back here. Cheryl McKissick Daniel. The
new book is called The Black Family Who Built America
The Mckissics Two Centuries of Daring Pioneers. It was out
last month. Cheryl mckisick Daniel, President and CEO of Mickissic
and McKissick