Category: Uncategorized

CK Commercial Attends Baltimore Community Lending Renovation Project Unveiling

Last week CK Commercial attended the official kick-off of the Baltimore Community Lending (BCL) Headquarters renovation project in Baltimore, MD. BCL was joined by U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin, who, in an effort to increase economic opportunities in disadvantaged communities, secured $1 million to support the renovation of BCL’s office headquarters and new Small Business Development and Resource center.

BCL’s mission is to “support the revitalization and strengthening of underserved communities throughout the Baltimore metro area through innovative and flexible financial assistance designed to promote community development.” The funding received will help further BCL’s mission to provide small business owners with the resources to gain access to numerous business development training and assistance opportunities.

“It takes a village to make the Business Development and Resource Center a reality. The village is the Federal, State, local government and all stakeholders who have come together so we can continue supporting small businesses for years to come,” Watchen Harris Bruce, President and CEO, Baltimore Community Lending.

The BCL project will include the renovation of over 17,000 SF of their new space on North Calvert Street in Baltimore, MD. The four-story building will be renovated to include a Training Center on the first level, Co-working and Business Development on the second level, and BCL offices and collaborative spaces will be included for the third and fourth levels.

The project is expected to start in July 2023, with an estimated completion of September 2023.

CK Commercial Ranks Among Highest-Scoring Businesses on Inc. Magazine’s Annual List of Best Workplaces for 2023 for the FIFTH year in a row!

CK Commercial has been named to Inc. magazine’s annual Best Workplaces list. Featured in the May/June 2023 issue, which hits newsstands on May 16, 2023, and prominently featured on Inc.com, the list is the result of a comprehensive measurement of American companies that have excelled in creating exceptional workplaces and company culture, whether operating in a physical or a virtual facility. 

After collecting data from thousands of submissions, Inc. selected 591 honorees this year. Each company that was nominated took part in an employee survey, conducted by Quantum Workplace, which included topics such as management effectiveness, perks, fostering employee growth, and overall company culture. The organization’s benefits were also audited to determine overall score and ranking. 

Although CK Commercial has been recognized for the last four years as an Inc Best Workplace, we refuse to become complacent. Our culture-first commitment is in the DNA of CK Commercial. From our inception, we have had a clearly defined mission, core values, norms, expectations and strategic anchors that we prioritize in our hiring decisions and performance reviews and that we consistently over-communicate and reinforce daily. Additionally, we continuously look for ways to enhance and improve our culture and look to our team members for their honest feedback, collaborative input and fresh ideas. 

CK Commercial Founder and Lead Strategist Michael Crim emphasizes the importance of keeping the team a priority year after year.

“To be a part of this coveted list for five consecutive years is a huge honor. As we continue to grow and evolve as a company, we remain committed to maintaining our founding goal of always putting our team first and building an exceptional workplace culture. 

“Being named to Best Workplaces is an honor that only a small fraction of companies have been able to claim,” says Inc. editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk. “Proving to the world that you’re a magnet for talent and have a culture that keeps teams engaged, productive, and proud to come to work is a truly remarkable achievement.” 

Read the full list here.

CK COMMERCIAL ACHIEVES DIAMOND LEVEL STEP SAFETY RECOGNITION FROM THE ASSOCIATED BUILDERS AND CONTRACTORS (ABC) FOR THE THIRD YEAR IN A ROW.

CK Commercial is proud to announce that we have once again been named a Diamond Level STEP (Safety Training Evaluation Process) recipient by the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC). This is CK Commercial’s fifth year being recognized for its commitment to safety and our third year achieving the Diamond Level, the highest level attainable by STEP participants.

“Safety is our priority. We are passionate and committed to creating an injury-free Safety culture where safety comes first. To be named a STEP Diamond level recipient for the third year in a row is something we really value,” said CK Commercial Founder and Lead Strategist Michael Crim, “As a company prioritizing our team is a founding principle. With that, our commitment to their safety and the safety of everyone on our projects is of utmost importance.”

Founded in 1989 as a safety benchmarking and improvement tool, STEP has evolved into a world-class safety management system that dramatically improves safety performance among participants regardless of company size or type of work. Participating ABC member firms measure their safety processes and policies on 25 key components through a detailed questionnaire with the goal of implementing or enhancing safety programs that reduce jobsite incidents. STEP is a proven system that provides the framework to measure, strengthen and build industry-leading safety programs that enable top-performing ABC members to achieve incident rates 688% safer than the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics construction industry average.