After the Obama Presidential Center opened in Chicago, a subcontractor that had been working on the project announced it was shutting down and had laid off 25 union workers. The owner said the company was forced to abandon several other construction jobs and was on the brink of collapse. He described the decision to close operations as painful but necessary to prevent bankruptcy.
Mike Owen, the owner of Adamson Plumbing Contractors, explained that the financial fallout from the project left him with significant losses. He said the layoffs were a difficult choice, noting that the company could still have made money if it had not been put in a bad corner. Owen emphasized that the decision was made to protect the remaining workforce and the business’s future.
Adamson filed a $1.72 million mechanic’s lien against the center’s property, turning the payment dispute into a legal confrontation. The lien claims unpaid fees, change orders, and labor overruns that the company can document. Owen intends to pursue the full $3.9 million loss he estimates the project caused.
The subcontractor is one of several that reported financial distress after working on the center. A larger dispute involves a firm seeking more than $40 million in additional payment. These disputes highlight broader payment issues among contractors on the site.
Owen said the project left his company with $3.9 million in losses tied to delays, rework, labor overruns, and changing project demands. He spent months negotiating with the construction manager before deciding to go public after failing to resolve the issues. The negotiations were intended to secure overdue payments that had not been forthcoming.
The breaking point came during the center’s opening celebration when an agreement was reached to provide two journeyman plumbers for last‑minute work at premium nighttime rates. The contract stipulated a $100,000 payment that was supposed to be released before the center opened. The payment did not arrive on time, prompting Owen to suspend operations on June 25.
He stated that he had agreed to the work in good faith, but the missing payment was the final blow that forced the shutdown. The company’s financial position was already precarious, and the delayed payment accelerated the decision to close. Owen said he would regroup and reassess the company’s status by September.
After suspending operations, Owen received the promised $100,000 retainage and approximately $35,000 for change orders. The funds arrived more than two weeks after the shutdown and helped reduce debt to one supplier. However, the money was too late to reverse the company’s closure.
Owen moved out of the company’s building and is currently working from home while turning the dispute over to attorneys. He remains uncertain about the future of Adamson Plumbing Contractors. He has escalated the nearly $4 million payment fight and is preparing to pursue legal action.
The mechanic’s lien covers the amounts that can be documented, such as unpaid fees and logged change orders. Owen has not abandoned the pursuit of the full $3.9 million loss, stating he will continue to hold the center accountable. He has avoided litigation initially, preferring to negotiate a resolution.
Now that litigation is underway, Owen acknowledges the costs involved but believes the legal system protects small contractors. He noted that the $1.72 million lien will be reduced by the payments received. He will continue to fight the dispute through the courts.
The construction manager for the center was a joint venture led by a major construction company and four Black‑owned firms. The project employed approximately 475 contractors. The manager emphasized that contractual closeout continues long after the doors have opened on complex projects.
The foundation overseeing the center said the construction manager was responsible for paying subcontractors and that there were no outstanding disputed charges. It also mentioned that
