Contractors seek millions in Ossining
The owner of Atria on the Hudson, a senior-living community in Ossining, has been sued by a Long Island contractor seeking a foreclosure sale of the property to collect about $4.1 million for unpaid construction work completed last summer on Atria”™s $21.6-million renovations project.
The general contractor, Racanelli Construction Co. in Melville, has gone to state Supreme Court in Westchester County to be put first in line ahead of 17 subcontractors seeking payments totaling nearly $2.1 million for their work on the project. While awaiting those overdue payments from Racanelli, the subcontractors have filed mechanic”™s liens against the property owner with the Westchester county clerk.
The defendant, OLSL Hudson L.L.C., is an entity of Atria Senior Living Group Inc., a private company headquartered in Louisville, Ky., that operates more than 120 independent-living and assisted-living communities for seniors in 27 states. Of the company”™s 25 locations across New York, Atria operates four facilities in Westchester.
In Ossining, the redeveloped property at 321 N. Highland Ave. opened in 1967 as a Sheraton inn and conference center. It was converted to an assisted-living facility in 1997 and Atria took over its management in 2005. Atria two years ago began its redevelopment of the 137,000-square-foot, 124-unit complex on a 10-acre site.
Joseph P. Asselta, the Long Island attorney representing the general contractor in the lawsuit, and Richard M. Racanelli, the company principal in charge of the Ossining project, did not return calls for comment.
“We”™re extremely proud of our Atria on the Hudson community and hope to resolve this quickly,” said Atria Senior Living spokeswoman Amy Schuster in Louisville. The liens and litigation do not affect services to Atria”™s Ossining residents, she said.
“Disputes like this are not uncommon in large, complex projects like this one,” Schuster added. “We vigorously defend our position.”
She declined to discuss the company”™s position in the dispute while the lawsuit is pending. A response from Atria attorneys to the contractor”™s complaint has not yet been filed with the court in White Plains.
Two days before its Westchester court filing, Racanelli Construction last month announced the completion of its work for Atria on another renovations project at a senior-living community in Glen Cove. The family-owned-and-operated company in June was named general contractor for a 20,000-square-foot Restaurant Depot scheduled to open this month in Port Chester.
Subcontractors filing liens for unpaid work on the Ossining project include three Westchester companies. The largest and most recent claim was filed by attorneys for Siteworks Contracting Corp. in Mount Vernon.
Arthur Rossi, executive project manager at Siteworks, said the approximately $404,000 payment his company is awaiting amounts to about 35 percent of its contract with Racanelli for curbing, asphalt paving and other exterior work that was finished about five months ago. His wife, Patricia Rossi, is president of the 16-year-old, woman-owned business at 100 Hartford Ave. in Mount Vernon.
Rossi said delays in payment are not unusual on construction projects. “It”™s a problem. There”™s no protection for us subcontractors,” he said. The problem arises with both owners and general contractors. “Everybody”™s got a little bit of a dark side,” he said.
For the payment-withholding owner, “It”™s really a way to finance this project,” Rossi said. “It”™s interest-free money at this point.”
For his 15-employee business, “It affects our cash flow. We have to borrow from our credit line just to keep going. It puts us in a precarious position, especially in this current economy where margins are very, very slim.”
Unpaid subcontractors have little recourse beyond filing mechanic”™s liens, Rossi said. With labor and suppliers requiring payment, “We”™re the ones who are really out of pocket.”
In a dispute such as this one in Ossining, “You sit on the sidelines and wait until the lawyers figure it out. We could be sitting here for a year or two.
“I believe construction is the only industry where you can do this and get away with it,” Rossi said. “We really need help to protect the subcontractors from the owner and the general contractor.”