Two contractors have filed liens worth $10.2 million for their work in constructing the seven-story, 369-unit Rise Apartments in the Koreatown neighborhood of Los Angeles, CA.
The contractors — which includes the project’s general contractor and a subcontractor — filed mechanics liens as of October 13, 2020.
A mechanics lien can be filed by unpaid contractors to gain a security interest in a serviced property. Until a contractor is paid, a lien can hinder the serviced property title, preventing its sale and refinancing.
Prior to the announcement of the construction of the Rise Apartments in December of 2018, a shopping center was located at the current location of the apartments, which required demolition services.
The Rise Apartments property, located at 3525 West 8th Street, Los Angeles, CA, is owned and operated by Rescore Koreatown, LLC.
Each mechanics lien was processed by the Los Angeles County clerk’s office pursuant to California mechanics lien laws.
Two contractors place liens on Rise Apartments
General contractor Bernards Builders, Inc. and subcontractor Millennium Reinforcing, Inc. are owed a combined $10,224,959 in unpaid work from their involvement at the Rise Apartments.
The largest mechanics lien claim filed against the property was filed by Bernards Builders on October 13.
According to the lien affidavit, Bernards Builders claims they are still owed a total of $9,969,933 from property owner Rescore Koreatown for their general contracting duties.
One day prior on October 12, subcontractor Millennium Reinforcing, Inc. placed a lien claim worth $255,026.05 against the property.
According to the Millennium Reinforcing lien affidavit, the subcontractor filed the unpaid work claim directly against Rescore Koreatown and not against the GC.
General contractor Bernards Builders, Millennium Reinforcing, and property owner Rescore Koreatown could not be reached for comment.
According to the facility’s listing on Apartments.com, the Rise Apartments offices studio and one-bedroom apartments ranging in size from 533-square-feet studios to 708-square-feet one-bedrooms.
The Rise Apartments will also house 52,000-square-feet of round-floor retail space, of which a grocery store will occupy 23,000 square feet.
The Real Deal reported that the project had initially secured $154 million in financing, and that Los Angeles’ Koreatown neighborhood is “one of the hottest submarkets in the country for residential and commercial development.”