Baker Museum Naples Florida - Google Maps

As of January 13, 2020, at least nine construction lien claims have been filed against The Baker Museum in Naples, Florida following an expansion project that was completed in April 2020. The nine claims total $2.5 million in unpaid work, according to the lien affidavits.

Nine different subcontractors filed the mechanics lien claims for constructing the $75 million, 18,000-square-foot expansion of The Baker Museum, which is owned by Artis-Naples, Inc.

The project’s general contractor, Manhattan Construction Company, is named in seven of the nine unpaid work claims on the museum project. A construction lien is used to help contractors force payment by inhibiting the sale or refinancing of the property while the claim is active.

All nine lien claims were filed under Florida’s construction lien laws.

Contractors awaiting payment 5 months after completion

The nine contractors are allegedly owed a total of $2.5 million for work taking place at The Baker Museum, located at 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd., Naples, FL.

According to the lien affidavits, the largest lien was filed by subcontractor Steel Fabricators, LLC against Manhattan Construction Company.

On August 27, 2020, Steel Fabricators filed a lien valued at $1,738,035.79 against the GC, which represents 69% of the total funds still withheld from contractors on this project.

Including Steel Fabricators’ lien, Manhattan Construction Company owes a total of $2,496,339.25 to seven contractors at The Baker Museum.

The second-largest lien placed on the property was from July 1, 2020, also against Manhattan Construction Company. Subcontractor WPM-Southern, LLC filed a lien valued at $250K from their work spanning from Nover of 2018 until May of 2020.

Naples Concrete & Masonry filed the third-largest lien valued at $157,722.13 against the GC on July 13, 2020.

The lone two liens that did not name Manhattan Construction Company total a combined $26,012.23 in unpaid work. Back in January of 2020, Advanced Architectural Products, LLC filed an $18,944.35 lien against subcontractor Cleveland Marble Mosaic Company.

Preferred Materials, Inc. filed the smallest lien, which totaled $7,067.88 against Paramount Asphalt Sealcoating Corp.

None of the lien releases have yet been released.

A $75M expansion project at The Baker Museum in Naples

The 18,000-square-foot expansion project at The Baker Museum ranged from enhancing the building’s facade to including new exhibit space.

Construction was organized by three levels of the building, with Level 1 consisting of a new loading dock, a performance and learning center, an outdoor cafe, and more. Level 2 of the property includes a new music chamber, an outdoor balcony, and a new museum gallery. On Level 3, an open-air terrace was constructed atop the building with a new cafe.

Before contractors could begin to construct the museum’s $75M expansion project, renovations to the existing building were required.

According to Florida Weekly, the museum was closed for two years after the building suffered property damages from Hurricane Irma, which struck the southern coasts of Florida in August 2017. The museum reopened its doors to the public back in December 2019.

Update January 21, 2021:

Manhattan Construction submitted a mechanics lien claim on December 3, 2020 against the disputed museum project.

According to the Collier County clerk’s office, Manhattan Construction claims they are still owed $2,566,434.41 for their role in constructing the expansion project between November 2018 and October 2020.