Civic Center Contractor Walks Away From Job in Beverly Hills

The contractor responsible for completing construction of the $83-million Beverly Hills Civic Center complex has walked off the job because of a dispute over payments, city officials have disclosed.

City Atty. Greg Stepanicich announced at the City Council meeting Tuesday that J. A. Jones Construction Co., the general contractor for the final phase of the project, left the job Jan. 15 as a result of a financial disagreement that had been simmering since November.

The city’s economic development manager, Howard Rattner, said in an interview that he believes the city owes Jones less than $10 million, but the firm is claiming “between $10 million and $20 million.”

Jefferson Welch, senior business development manager for Jones’ western regional office, said Wednesday that his firm was claiming “in the range of $10 million.”

Welch disputed Stepanicich’s statement that Jones’ workers had left the job Jan. 15. “As far as our people actually departing, they just left in the last day or two,” he said, adding that the disagreement over dates may be the result of “some legal posturing.”

“The project’s scope has changed and increased during the course of construction,” Welch said. “The design documents were not clear, and complications arose, such as the discovery of asbestos in the existing buildings, a hazard which has to be removed. This affects our schedule.

“We’ve kept the city’s representatives continuously informed of the impact of these events, and we’ve continued to work at full speed. . . . We’ve not been paid by the city for our work for several months,” he said.

“We hope the city will reconsider its commitment. J. A. Jones would be pleased to complete the project for the city and feel it would be in our mutual best interest to do so,” Welch said.

Stepanicich said that the city served written notice Jan. 16 of its intent to fire the contractor.

The City Council passed a resolution Tuesday to hire a construction manager to oversee completion of the complex, which includes a police facility and library.

To complete the Civic Center, Stepanicich said the city would try to use the same subcontractors that have been engaged by J. A. Jones.

He said that a special legal counsel retained last November for the construction project would seek recovery of additional costs incurred as a result of the Jones walkout.

City government offices, police headquarters and the library have been in temporary facilities for more than a year. They had been scheduled to move to the new complex next month. Rattner said the work disruption would mean about a month’s delay.