Celebrating the Fourth Cohort of the Construction Business Accelerator
On Tuesday, May 13, the University of Kentucky and Turner Construction celebrated the graduation of the fourth cohort of the Construction Business Accelerator (CBA) program. Held at the University of Kentucky College of Design’s new Gray Design Building, the ceremony marked a significant milestone: with this cohort, 65 individuals have now graduated from the program since its launch in 2022.
The CBA is a 12-week program designed to prepare small and emerging construction-related businesses to grow and compete in Kentucky’s evolving building industry. Participants receive hands-on training in critical areas like safety, estimating, scheduling, subcontracting, construction accounting, contracts, bonding, insurance, and bid preparation. The program culminates in a mock bid project and post-bid review—a capstone designed to simulate the high stakes and collaboration of real-world contracting.
“Construction continues to be an important industry sector for Kentucky. With over $6 billion in construction projects planned for the University of Kentucky, it is important to continue growing our own pipeline of construction companies and related trades,” Marilyn Clark, Economic Engagement Manager at the University of Kentucky said. “The CBA graduates are finding opportunities at UK, and with community partners like Messer, Fayette County Schools, LFUCG, Bluegrass Airport and others. We value our relationship with Turner Construction and community partners and look forward to working together to grow and improve the program in 2026.”
This year’s final project challenged participants to develop a proposal for the construction of a greenhouse as part of a Turner-led initiative on campus. Thanks to a new private plan room at Lynn Imaging, teams were able to access detailed project documents, drawings, and addendums as they prepared their bids—mirroring the expectations and standards of professional work sites.
The 18 businesses represented in this year’s cohort included ACE Consulting, Elaine Allen LLC, EMCA Cleaning Services, J&G Construction, Jostin Construction, Julie Collins Consulting Arborist & Tree Health Services LLC, KRC Roofing and Construction, New Era Solutions, Nolan Construction LLC, Plsix Porta Potty Rentals LLC, Portable Solutions Group, Redemption Solar and Roofing, Seven Construction Management, Scruggs Construction Inc., Sunny’s Plumbing Solutions Inc., Turing Construction, Vertical IQ Consultants, and Woolfork Consulting LLC.
“To be involved in the process of preparing more trade contractors and small construction management firms for opportunities to bid in the commercial construction space is a source of great pride for our teams at Turner and the University of Kentucky,” Kristen Smitherman-Voltaire, Community and Citizenship Director at Turner Construction said. “The CBA Steering Committee dedicated eight months of focused time and effort planning and executing program logistics and aligning the curriculum to what participants would need to know to achieve their business development goals. I most appreciate the collective commitment of the program’s community partners to get to know each business in the cohort and identify meaningful opportunities. The entire CBA support network of organizations genuinely seeks ways to connect the cohort and Alumni with resources and tools to succeed. And that makes all the difference.”
Backed by a wide array of community partners—including Blue Grass Airport, Commerce Lexington, Fayette County Public Schools, Kentucky APEX Accelerator, the City of Lexington, the Human Relations Commission, Messer Construction, the Small Business Administration, ESG, the University of Kentucky Federal Credit Union, and Lynn Imaging—the Construction Business Accelerator continues to build a stronger construction economy in Kentucky.
As the fourth cohort steps into the next chapter of their business journeys, they do so as part of a growing alumni network—and a movement to ensure Kentucky’s construction industry is built to last.