A wave of over 20 unpaid work claims involving two separate office buildings is the latest addition to Miami’s mechanics lien surge since the start of 2020.

Subcontractors hired to work renovations on the $84 million, 310 thousand-square-foot office building project at 100 Biscayne Blvd, Miami, FL has filed $1.5 million in mechanics lien claims against the property owner, general contractor, and fellow subcontractors as of August of 2020.

Additionally, four contractors have filed liens against a $16 million, 75 thousand-square-foot office building in the Miami neighborhood of Coconut Grove totaling $1.7 million as of July of 2020. A mechanics lien is used to help force payment to contractors by preventing the property’s sale or refinancing until they have been lifted.

Between the two office building projects in Miami, at least 29 mechanics lien claims have been filed as of August 2020 that total $3,659,358.81 in unpaid construction work.

In July of 2020 alone, 158 mechanics lien filings in Miami totaled $14.8M in unpaid work claims. The average value of a Miami lien from July 2020 was $93,732.61.

25 Liens Placed on the 100 Biscayne Office Building in Miami

According to lien affidavits, a total of $1,572,634.29 in lien claims has been placed upon the 100 Biscayne office building in downtown Miami, formerly known as New World Tower, for renovations that totaled $10M.

In total, at least 10 different contractors, including the general contractor, have filed 24 liens against the office building owned by New World Tower Miami, LLC. One of the filings was a notice of tax lien filed by the Miami-Dade County clerk’s office. The notice of tax lien is valued at $327,322.78 with a 50% penalty fee and seeks to recover two years of unpaid taxes from the property owner.

The project’s general contractor, Amicon Construction, placed six liens against the property, totaling $855,526.53 in unpaid work.

Since July of 2019, 12 liens from six different contractors have been filed against Amicon Construction at the 100 Biscayne job site, totaling $319,869.32 in lien claims.

Four Contractors Owed $1.7M at Coconut Grove Office Building

At least four contractors are owed a total of $1,759,401.74 for work taking place at an office building in the neighborhood of Coconut Grove, located at 2850 Oak Ave., Miami, Fl.

According to the lien affidavits, the largest claim was placed against property owner Terra Group by the project’s general contractor, TGSV Enterprises, Inc. On July 10, 2020, the general contractor filed a lien claiming $1,029,393.74, which accounts for roughly 59% of the total funds withheld from the four contractors.

Two subcontractors have also placed liens against the general contractor on this job site, claiming $727,501 in total unpaid construction debt since October of 2019.

Miami Lien Claims Surge Amid COVID-19 Outbreak

Between January and June of 2020, Miami experienced a surge in mechanics lien filings while battling to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

In June 2020, at least 257 unpaid construction work claims were filed that totaled $43.4M in unpaid work. From January to June of 2020, Miami contractors placed over 1,800 lien claims that totaled $223M.

However, July saw a slight dip in lien claims in Miami, with 158 filings that totaled $14,809,752.

As of August 2020, the Sunshine State has surpassed 100K deaths due to COVID-19, which includes non-residents. Florida has also reported 584,047 confirmed cases of the coronavirus as of August.

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