Josef Rettman is the President of NEI General Contracting. NEI provides general contracting and construction management services and is the general contractor for Indigo Block. We are proud to have Joe as a member of Dorchester Bay’s Columbia Circle Society.
We spoke with Joe about how economic development corporations (EDC’s) like Dorchester Bay invest in the communities they serve by providing opportunities that foster economic mobility.
—
How did you first become involved with Dorchester Bay?
I was first involved with Dorchester Bay when NEI General Contracting worked on the modernization project of Cottage Brook. From there, I became more acquainted with Dorchester Bay staff at community outreach and various organizational events. I appreciated Dorchester Bay’s mission and wanted to be part of the process to help accomplish the goals of providing housing and supportive services to residents.
From your perspective, why are community development corporations (CDCs) like Dorchester Bay an important resource to the communities they serve?
CDCs that develop affordable housing also invest in their communities by providing opportunities that foster economic mobility. CDCs do a better job of helping communities they serve as they work closely with residents and engage them in ways that understand and support their needs.
What aspects of Dorchester Bay’s mission motivated you to go beyond a business partnership to directly support our work as a Columbia Circle Society member?
The various community outreach programs that Dorchester Bay offers motivated me to support their work. I could not see being involved in building a community and not be a part of the solution or part of the process to help those in need or provide social services or training to people who may need them. If you are going to benefit or work in anyone’s backyard, you should make sure that you’re also helping to create opportunities that can help improve the community and the lives of the residents.
Is there anything you can say about Dorchester Bayʼs commitment to the Dorchester community?
Dorchester Bay does a great job of putting the community first. If people don’t have a support network like Dorchester Bay that can help them with the lack of housing or social services, the fabric of the community starts to breakdown.
Anything you want people to know about you or NEI?
NEI is striving to give as much work as possible to people who live in the communities where we build. We are involved in sponsoring multiple organizations within those communities and attempting to create some programs to help incubate small subcontractors to help individuals start businesses. Our primary objective this year is to attract qualified candidates to increase the pool of local subcontractors that are Minority-Owned Business Enterprise (MBE) and Women Business Enterprise (WBE). We are working to identify individuals who have a desire to learn, may have little to some knowledge or do not have enough capital.