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Kwame Building Group reports 106 completed tornado‑stabilization projects and ongoing intake work
Summary
Kwame Building Group told the Budget Committee it has completed 106 emergency stabilization repairs after the May tornado, is managing multiple general contractors, and continues intake of roughly 100 additional homes; committee members praised the work and asked about intake access and MBWE coordination.
Kwame Building Group presented a progress report to the Budget & Public Employees Committee on the city’s tornado recovery stabilization program.
Michael Thompson, business development and marketing director for Kwame, said the firm launched an immediate relief effort after the May tornado and later responded to a city request for program management services. Kwame’s scope includes hiring and oversight of general contractors, compiling the city’s intake database, contacting residents, reviewing and authorizing contractor work, conducting field inspections, and managing a materials warehouse used for tarps and lumber.
Project staff said they performed roughly 5,000 outreach phone calls (part of ~15,000 total calls), qualified about 3,000 people on a phone basis, produced 574 draft work orders, and found approximately 314 properties too heavily damaged for stabilization. At the time of the presentation Kwame reported 106 homes completed and about 100 additional homes in intake or active repair. Kwame listed four selected general contractors assigned across neighborhoods and said the program remains open for new intakes; Tetra Tech has been brought on to centralize recovery systems.
Committee members thanked Kwame for on‑the‑ground work, asked about how residents access the program and MBWE (minority/business enterprise) outreach, and were told residents can call Kwame directly or use a QR code flyer to reach the permits intake website. Kwame said it continues weekly field monitoring and coordination with the city and recovery office and asked aldermen to help amplify community outreach to identify additional qualifying residents.
