Politically active demolition man is firm favourite with city’s officials.
Baltimore City Hall’s favorite demolition contractor, Pless B. Jones, won another plum award at yesterday’s Board of Estimates meeting, this time to raze the long-vacant Super Pride grocery store in Howard Park.
As was the case last week, Jones satisfied the city’s requirements for using minority- and women-owned subcontractors by hiring his son’s firm and a company that is operated from his corporate address.
The same lineup of RBJ Contracting and Cleo Enterprises helped Jones’ P&J Contracting Co. win a contract last week that was 74% higher than a competing bid. The Board of Estimates rejected the lower bid because it did not meet minority requirements.
Community activist Kim Trueheart, who attended yesterday’s meeting, applauded the grocery store project, but said she hoped Jones’ demolition “won’t resemble Durham Street,” referring to citizen complaints about the rubble left behind at another P&J site in the city.
The demolition company has received more than $20 million in awards from the city since 2005, including for the leveling of the Uplands Apartment complex and emergency and planned demolition of more than 300 scattered houses for the housing department. Its biggest ongoing project has been the razing of more than 600 houses for the biopark development project in East Baltimore.
Pless Jones has been a strong political backer of Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, contributing $8,000 personally and through his demolition company, and serving on the host committee of her re-election fundraiser at the Hippodrome Theatre.
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