A dispute over concrete is to blame for the latest delay in the massive mixed-use Juban Crossing project in Livingston Parish. Associated Concrete Contractors of Texas has placed a lien on the property along Interstate 12 east of Denham Springs, claiming it is owed nearly $6.9 million for work on the shopping development.
Creekstone Companies principal Stephen Keller, who is leading the development of Juban Crossing, says in court documents the lien is holding up $81 million in financing for the shopping center. Associated Concrete Contractors is a subcontractor for Block Construction, which was hired to perform site work, drainage, utilities, and all horizontal concrete in the first and second phases of the project.
Keller’s company, Creekstone/Juban I, is suing the firm in Baton Rouge federal court to get the lien removed. On Wednesday, Judge Brian Jackson issued a 60-day stay in the case while the parties negotiate a settlement.
Attorneys for Creekstone contend the terms of an unsigned agreement between Block and Associated Concrete Contractors specified that neither company would be paid until Creekstone sold public bonds to finance the project, and that no liens were to be filed.
Creekstone purchased the property in 2006 for $4.4 million, and Block began work on the project in February 2011. Keller ordered all work to cease 10 months later because no bonds had been sold and there was “no money for the project,” according to court documents. Associated Concrete recorded a lien against the property in October 2012.
“Creekstone/Juban has arranged a loan of $81 million to finance the project, but the lender will not proceed forward until the materialman’s lien is cancelled,” Keller says in an affidavit that was filed to expedite the matter. “Without this financing, the project will have to be terminated.”
