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Bragg sues for unpaid construction fees at Lumen West LA project
Design changes escalated amount owed to steel subcontractor to $30M, suit alleges
From left: Northwood Investors CEO John Kukral, Hathaway Dinwiddie Construction Company CEO Greg Cosko, McCarthy Cook CEO Edward Cook and Bragg Companies CEO M. Scott Bragg along with 11355 West Olympic Boulevard (Getty, LoopNet, Northwood Investors, Hathaway Dinwiddie Construction, Bragg Companies, McCarthy Cook)
Construction firm Bragg Companies has sued the owners of Lumen West LA, an office project in Sawtelle, claiming the owners and their general contractor owe about $30 million for work Bragg performed on the development.
Bragg filed a lawsuit against general contractor Hathaway Dinwiddie and the limited liability company that owns the development, alleging it has not been paid for a range of steel work, according to a complaint filed with L.A. Superior Court this week.
McCarthy Cook and Northwood Investors own the 550,000-square-foot project at 11355 West Olympic Boulevard, which they started redeveloping in 2020. The $300 million project finished last year, according to reports.
But Bragg, which was a subcontractor on the project, claims construction took 13 months longer than expected because Hathaway asked for a number of design changes related to seismic requirements, the complaint said.
“These design changes required Bragg to perform extensive additional work,” including connecting new steel beams and installing new shear plates, Bragg said in its complaint.
Neither McCarthy Cook nor Hathaway Dinwiddie responded to requests for comment. Northwood Investors declined to comment.
Bragg signed an initial subcontract for $12.3 million in January 2020. But because of the design changes, the subcontract ballooned to $29.7 million — an amount that still has not been paid to Bragg, the complaint alleges.
Bragg filed a mechanic’s lien on the property for $11.5 million this week, and has asked the court for permission to foreclose on the lien, the complaint said. The $11.5 million is owed, though a total of $29.7 million is “due to be paid,” Bragg said.
McCarthy Cook and Northwood Investors bought the site for $48.6 million in 2013, records show, and scored entitlements for the project in 2019. The duo landed $376 million in financing from a Blackstone unit the same year, records show.
The renovations added about 115,000 square feet to the site, with about 15,000 square feet dedicated to retail and restaurant space.
In March, the development scored its first tenant — film and TV production and distribution firm Fifth Season signed a lease to occupy about 65,000 square feet on the premises.