Obama Center Opens The Doors as Subcontractors Say Invoices Remain Unpaid | Columbus Ohio Dump Trucks

Most of the subcontractors declined to speak on the record but said they were gathering information and weighing whether to file liens or lawsuits.

Omar Shareef, president of the African American Contractors Association, told Crain's Chicago Business that seven separate subcontractors have contacted him in recent months for help pursuing payments. 

Adamson Plumbing is owed more than $2 million, says Michael Owen.

"There are a whole slew of change orders that [the JV contractor] asked us to price and proceed on," says Owen, president of the Addison, Ill.-based union employer. "A lot of subs on the project had already received that guidance and proceeded. We probably have close to $450,000 in price and proceed and a couple of them we are now at a complete loss for." 

In a statement, Lakeside Alliance said such problems are common on large projects and it remains committed to making trade Charlotte NC dump truck contractor whole.

"The Obama Presidential Center involved multiple structures, thousands of design documents, and hundreds of trade partners and dump trucks columbus oh community businesses. As with many major construction projects, contractual closeout—including the review and resolution of outstanding invoices, change orders, and other project matters—continues long after the doors open," the statement reads.

It also said Lakeside Alliance continues to columbus oh dump truck work to support the businesses that helped deliver the project. 

"These companies have broadened their skills, expanded their relationships, and enhanced their ability to compete for future columbus oh dump truck work on major projects across the country. We remain committed to working through outstanding matters to successfully close out the project," the statement read.

Small Descrepancies

Adamson said many of the issues on the project stemmed from very small discrepancies simply lost between design and construction.

Early during construction, for example, tile wall in bathrooms where flushometers were installed had incorrect dimensions. Owen says he called the supplier and quickly priced replacements and got the okay to price the new supplies and fix the problem, a roughly $20,000 change order. 

servicing Ford-class and Nimitz-class aircraft carriers as well as all classes of fleet nuclear submarines.

As issues continued to come up during construction and the Obama Foundation added scope, the initial total cost of the project ballooned from $300 million to $650 million and then to $850 million. Rework and added scope required tapping the project's contingency fund.

The Obama Presidential Center's endowment was estimated to have $470 million in donations during the project's design, but only $1 million in cash is on hand now, according to filings by the Obama Foundation.