A lumber supplier has filed a lawsuit against the investor and general contractor behind a slate of new projects in Salt Lake City, alleging the projects are behind on payment.
The lawsuit, filed Friday in Third District Court in Salt Lake County, alleges Built Contractors, a company created in the wake of the Makers Line collapse, owed over $772,000 for materials provided to construct Alta Terra South in Sugar House.
It’s not clear whether the lawsuit will pose a threat to the ongoing project. It instead appears to signal continued fallout from the web of companies related to Makers Line, which was one of the largest and fastest growing general contracting firms when it collapsed last October.
California-based Channel Lumber has filed liens on the Alta Terra South property, at 1132 E. Ashton, and another for the project known as Bueno Apartments, at 129 S. 700 E., in the East Central neighborhood. Channel filed a lien for $373,902 on that property.
Another contractor, DOKA USA, also filed a lien on the Alta Terra South property alleging it’s owed $191,059 for scaffolding equipment it provided for the project, which is still under construction.
There are no liens or lawsuits affiliated with Alta Terra North, at 1121 E. Ashton.
All told, creditors allege that projects affiliated with the development firm Alta Terra Real Estate owe over $1 million.
The lawsuit is filed against Built Contractors and Salt Lake City Properties I, LLC, which is registered to an executive with the Florida-based investment firm Kayne Anderson.
A representative from Kayne Anderson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday. It’s not clear what role Alta Terra Real Estate still has on the relevant projects, and an executive didn’t respond to a request for comment on Monday.
The firm has let go of most of its staff in recent months amid an ongoing slowdown in commercial real estate. But past employees have a connection with the firm that apparently stepped in after Makers Line collapsed last year.
Ties with Makers Line
The lawsuit and liens show an ongoing fallout from the collapse of Makers Line last fall, when it abruptly fired hundreds of construction workers and members of administrative staff.
Within a week of the Makers Line closure, James Wheatley, who was previously listed as an employee with Alta Terra, registered Built Contractors with the state of Utah. Former Makers Line employees began updating their LinkedIn profiles to indicate they had been hired by Built.
Wheatley said he wasn’t aware of the lawsuit before it was filed and before being contacted by Building Salt Lake.
“Built Contractors is acting as a construction manager only on our current projects. We are not nor have we ever been the general contractor on these projects,” Wheatley said. “We have not nor do we hold any subcontracts or agreements with Channel Lumber. We will look further into this.”
The creation of Built appeared to be a way for Alta Terra, which had been working with Makers Line, to keep its projects on track.
That appears to have worked, as the projects have continued to be developed (though Alta Terra South is significantly more completed than the north building).
First approved in 2021, this two-building project by Alta Terra has faced delays due to legal troubles with Makers Line. Located just east of Fairmont Park, the north building will top out at 105 feet and bring 228 apartment homes and ground floor retail space. The south building, just west of the State Liquor Store, will top out at 89 feet and bring 118 apartments to the neighborhood.
DOKA, which rents out scaffolding and other construction materials, said it contracted with Titus Shotcrete, the now-shuttered concrete contractor owned by Jason Winkler and affiliated with Makers Line.
In its lawsuit, Channel Lumber said it started working on Alta Terra South on Aug. 17, 2023. It stopped working on the site on April 30.
“Built has and continues to refuse to pay for Channel’s services,” Channel wrote in its lawsuit.
This post was updated with comment from the owner of Built Contracting, which came in after the story was published.
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