A subcontractor that worked on the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago has shut down its operations and laid off 25 union workers, citing a payment dispute that left the company on the verge of collapse. Mike Owen, owner of Adamson Plumbing Contractors, said the financial fallout forced the company to abandon about half a dozen other construction jobs and pushed it to the brink of bankruptcy.
Owen told Fox News Digital that the decision to suspend operations was painful but necessary. «Laying off close to 30 people is something that no owner in our industry wants to do,» he 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.» The company, which performed its work under the name Marsh-Adamson, has since filed a $1.72 million mechanic's lien against the property, escalating the dispute into a legal battle.
The Obama Presidential Center, which opened in Chicago's Jackson Park in June, was promoted as a transformative economic opportunity for small and minority-owned businesses. However, a previous investigation by Fox News Digital identified several subcontractors—including Black-owned firms the project was specifically intended to support—that reported being owed money or absorbing losses ranging from hundreds of thousands of dollars to millions. The largest dispute involves the Concrete Collective, which is seeking more than $40 million in additional payment.
Owen said the breaking point came around the time of the center's star-studded opening celebration on June 19. According to Owen, Adamson and Lakeside Alliance—the project's construction manager—reached an agreement under which Adamson would provide two journeyman plumbers to perform last-minute «housekeeping» work on campus at premium nighttime rates. In return, Owen said, Adamson was supposed to receive part of its outstanding payment days before the opening. An email reviewed by Fox News Digital shows a Lakeside representative telling Owen that $100,000 would be released through Adamson's May payment application. Adamson completed the requested work, but the payment did not arrive on time, according to Owen.
«We negotiated it in good faith,» Owen said. «Against my better judgment, I agreed [to do the work].» He added: «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. 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.»
Owen said that the promised $100,000 retainage payment and around $35,000 for change orders have since arrived from Lakeside Alliance—more than two weeks after he suspended operations and laid off workers. The money helped reduce the company's debt to one supplier but did not reverse the shutdown. «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 moved out of its building, and Owen is working from home while turning the dispute over to his attorneys. The mechanic's lien filed against the Obama Presidential Center property alleges that the company remains owed money for plumbing work performed on campus. The lien is considerably lower than the approximately $3.9 million Owen says Adamson lost over the course of the project due to delays, rework, labor overruns, and changing project demands. Owen said the lien covers the amounts he believes are most readily documented, including unpaid fees, logged change orders, and labor overruns supported by company records.
«It doesn't mean that I'm not going to pursue the $3.9 million in change that we lost overall,» Owen said. «I'm still working with my legal team on that $3.9 million figure because I feel that it's only right that we still hold ownership at the presidential center accountable.» He said he had initially avoided filing a lawsuit or lien while attempting to negotiate a resolution. «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.»
Lakeside Alliance, a joint venture led by Turner Construction and four Black-owned Chicago construction firms—UJAMAA Construction, Powers & Sons Construction, Brown & Momen, and Safeway Construction—served as the project's construction manager. In a previous statement, Lakeside said approximately 475 contractors worked on the center, and it has maintained that it is committed to resolving payment disputes. The Obama Foundation, which oversees the center, has not commented on the specific subcontractor disputes.
