By A plumbing contractor that helped build the Obama Presidential Center has suspended operations and laid off 25 union workers after suffering nearly $4 million in losses tied to delays, additional work and disputed payments on the high-profile project.
Mike Owen, owner of Chicago-based Adamson Plumbing Contractors, said the financial damage forced the company to abandon roughly six other active construction projects and left him with little choice but to shut down before the business collapsed entirely.
“Laying off close to 30 people is something that no owner in our industry wants to do,” Owen said. “It’s a hard thing to do, especially when you know you can finish them and the company can still make money. But we were put in a pretty bad corner.”
Adamson performed work at the Obama Center under the name Marsh-Adamson, explained WGN. The company has since filed a $1.72 million mechanic’s lien against the property in an attempt to recover money it says remains unpaid.
The lien represents only part of the damage. Owen estimates that his company lost approximately $3.9 million because of project delays, labor overruns, required rework and changing demands during construction.
Adamson is among several subcontractors that have reported financial difficulties after working on the Obama Center, which was promoted in part as an economic opportunity for small and minority-owned businesses in Chicago.
Owen said months of negotiations with Lakeside Alliance, the project’s construction manager, failed to resolve the dispute before the center’s opening festivities.
As part of a last-minute agreement, Adamson provided two journeyman plumbers to complete final nighttime “housekeeping” work at premium rates. Owen said the company was promised a partial payment of $100,000 shortly before the center’s June 19 opening.
An email reviewed by Fox News Digital reportedly confirmed that the funds were supposed to be released through Adamson’s May payment application.
Adamson completed the work, but the money did not arrive on time.
“We negotiated it in good faith,” he said. “Against my better judgment, I agreed [to do the work].”
Owen said the missed payment became the final breaking point for the company.
“Not getting that large sum of money just kind of pulled the brakes on the train. It was just the final death blow to the company,” he added. “Rather than try to stretch it out and go bankrupt, I just decided the responsible thing was to shut it down. We’ll regroup, and we’ll see where we’re at come September.”
The promised $100,000 in retainage and roughly $35,000 in change-order payments eventually arrived more than two weeks after the layoffs and shutdown.
Owen said the money helped reduce what the company owed one supplier, but it arrived too late to save the business.
“It’s almost like too little, too late,” Owen said. “It probably would have just prolonged the inevitable at this point. We’re still deep in the hole of what they owe us.”
Adamson has now vacated its building. Owen is working from home as attorneys pursue the company’s claims.
Owen said he spent months attempting to negotiate a settlement before filing the mechanic’s lien and preparing for a broader legal fight.
“I’m not a litigious person, but at the same time, our legal system is there to protect the small guy,” Owen said. “I’m just going to have to fight this out legally from here on out, and these aren’t cheap costs.”
The recent payment will reduce the amount of the $1.72 million lien, according to Owen. He nevertheless plans to pursue the full $3.9 million that he says Adamson lost because of the project.
Lakeside Alliance, a joint venture that includes Turner Construction and several Black-owned Chicago firms, said large construction projects frequently require extended closeout periods after their official openings.
“Lakeside Alliance remains committed to working through all outstanding matters to successfully close out the project,” a spokesperson said.
The construction manager did not directly address Owen’s allegations, the layoffs or the lien.
The Obama Foundation said Lakeside Alliance is responsible for supervising and paying subcontractors. The foundation also said it provided contractors with financial assistance beyond normal industry practices, including 15-day payment cycles and, in some cases, accelerated or advance payments.
The dispute comes as construction costs for the Obama Center have climbed well beyond early estimates something that anyone who paid attention to his presidency wouldn’t be surprised by. Meanwhile, only a small portion of a reserve fund intended to protect taxpayers has reportedly been financed.
Owen said he was particularly frustrated that the layoffs and subcontractor disputes received little public attention while prominent politicians and entertainers celebrated the center’s opening.
He argued that a similar dispute involving a project associated with another major political figure would have generated a far different reaction.
“There would be holy hell to pay,” Owen said. “They would be picketing. They would be storming the castle.”
Owen also criticized Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker for remaining silent about union contractors that claim they were not fully compensated for their work.
“But he hasn’t said anything publicly about the union companies at the presidential center getting stiffed,” Owen said. “And it bothers me.”
Pritzker’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Owen stopped short of accusing former President Barack Obama of personally causing the dispute. He said, however, that the Obama Foundation should recognize the damage suffered by the contractors that helped complete the center.
“It’s become perfectly obvious to me that the ownership group there — they truthfully just don’t care,” he said. “I don’t know any other way to say it.”
For Owen, the completion of one of Chicago’s most celebrated construction projects has left him without a functioning company and searching for work.
“I mean, the only leverage I have now is just to continue speaking out and see where it goes,” he said. “But my career — it’s funny — I’m going to have to go find a job, which is fine. It’s just that I did not anticipate the completion of this project would take this turn.”
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