Press Room

Loss of General Contractor Proves Team Mettle

The sudden, tragic demise of Roberts Professional Construction Services, former general contractor for Crescent Village, has put Arlie & Company’s team through a trial by fire, says Director of Development Mark Miksis. But this hardship has showcased the company’s strength and resilience.

“Roberts’ fall has unexpectedly shown us how quickly and efficiently our team is able to act in the face of a major crisis. Our people quickly evaluated the situation, put into place a plan of action and quickly implemented it, all the while maintaining lines of communication with key stakeholders,” says Mark.

Arlie & Company, like others throughout the community, was caught completely off-guard by the downfall of the 60-year-old construction company. On January 21, Micheal Roberts, CEO and owner of Roberts Professional Construction Services, informed Arlie officials that he had not paid subcontractors on the CV project from the check Scott Diehl, Arlie’s Chief Operating Officer, had given him in early January. On January 23 Arlie terminated its contract with Roberts and hired Chambers Construction as the new general contractor.

“Chambers has been of great assistance in accomplishing all we’ve needed to in the aftermath,” says Scott. Before handing the reigns to Chambers, however, Arlie & Company needed to determine percentage of completion of three multi-million dollar buildings, the relationship with each of 43 subcontractors-half of whom were owed money-and what needed to happen to ensure the timely completion of all three buildings.

“The subcontractors needed to be assured that despite Roberts’ problems, the project was not in jeopardy, and they would be paid for their work going forward,” says Mark. A critical component was persuading the banks providing construction financing that Arlie & Company was in control of the project, and had a plan in place to ensure its completion.

“The closing of Roberts has been financially painful for us, and for all the local companies working on the project. Unfortunately, Arlie & Company and the subcontractors did nothing wrong, but are the parties to whom the financial burden is falling,” says Scott. “We have had to change many plans and free up financial resources we did not intend to. Through a process of working closely with the subcontractors, we are very near to resolving those issues resulting from the Roberts termination. We remain focused on the successful future of Crescent Village.”

The impact on Crescent Village is predominately an issue in the short-term, says Mark. “It has obviously created a huge amount of work for our employees and consultants, but it has also affected our customers.” Specifically, the 130 people on the waiting list for Village West apartment who expected to move in by March will now have to wait for perhaps three more months. “This situation will affect our timeline in completing the current three buildings under construction, but it will not impact the vision of the Village and its contribution to the livability of the surrounding neighborhoods.”

“When you have a fire of this magnitude to extinguish, it takes your focus away from your day to day work,” admits Mark. “In this case, while certain members of the Arlie & Company team were in the midst of dealing with the crisis, other team members did their part to contribute by ensuring other areas of the business did not suffer. It has reinforced to us that we have a great team of people here.”