Construction of a new courthouse in Broward County has stalled, and now one of the companies involved is attemptting to leave the project.
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that “[t]here’s been little work done as part of the $345.6 million transformation of the downtown Fort Lauderdale complex since a new $197 million, 20-story courthouse tower opened in January 2017. The tower was originally scheduled to open in 2015.”
According to the newspaper, work has yet to be completed on the tower. It also reports that “county inspectors have required the contractor to make more than 20,000 changes to the new building to meet the original plans, including sealing the exterior walls properly to keep out rain and sealing floors properly to protect against smoke and fire.”
The paper writes that James A. Cummings Inc. is the company that now wants to abandon the project, and that “Cummings and parent company Tutor Perini Building Corp. are suing the county, saying they shouldn’t have to do any more of the work because the county has changed what it wants done without supplying the needed plans or submitting the proper change orders. It is also seeking monetary damages.”
The Sun-Sentinel also reports that the county intends to launch a claim against the construction engineering firm over the issue of cost overruns.