A contractor who left millions of dollars worth of park construction projects incomplete in Fayetteville appears to have held on tight while legal action is pending, according to city records.
Mohammad Construction LLC, which changed its name to Apex Contracting Group last month, has been awarded several million-dollar contracts with the city in 2022 and 2023.
Attempts to contact Mohammad Construction LLC and its owner, Mohammad Mohammad, through numbers and emails listed with the city and the North Carolina Secretary of State, were unsuccessful Monday.
The projects and awards were: $1.2 million to build 2 kilometers of sidewalk on Rosehill Roadfrom Country Club Drive to Shaw Mills Road in June 2022; US$3.84 million for construction of the tennis center at Mazarick Park in June 2022; $1.34 million for Mazarick Park Tennis Center courts in February 2023; It is $1.46 million for Mable C. Smith Park projects which included parking lot expansion, a new splash pad, playground renovation and walking trail improvements in February 2023.
On May 14, city spokesperson Loren Bymer said construction of Mable Smith Park and work on the Mazarick Park tennis court site “has stopped due to the contractor abandoning the projects.”
The city announced in July 2023 that Mohammad Construction was removed from the Rosehill Road sidewalk project due to lack of progress.
How much was paid?
In an email statement Thursday, Bymer said legal action is pending for the unfinished projects and that the city is seeking bids to find a new contractor to complete the work.
“Currently, there is an adequate amount of money left in the budget for each project budget to complete the project,” Bymer said. “If more money is needed, the city will contact the financing company for each project.”
If the new contractor can keep the project on budget, he said, “there will be no reason to involve the surety company.”
“There should be no additional cost to taxpayers while projects remain in budget or if we involve the bonding company,” he said. “The only thing it cost residents was time.”
The tennis center contracts and the Mable C. Smith contract were awarded before Mohammad Construction “separated from the city,” he said.
City records provided to The Fayetteville Observer show the date of the last invoice Mohammad Construction sent to the city was September 26, 2023.
Last month, Bymer said the former Mohammad Construction received more than $3.67 million for work on the tennis venue; more than US$1.21 million for the construction of the tennis court; and more than $645,500 for Mable C. Smith Park.
Although the works were not completed, the funds paid were for services rendered and works completed, he said.
“The City of Fayetteville only pays contractors for work completed to standards,” Bymer said.
What work has been completed?
Former city spokesperson Devon Smith told The Fayetteville Observer in September 2023 that the Rosehill Road project was only 30% complete by Mohammad Construction.
City records show that work on the splash pad and playground at Mable C. Smith Park was completed in February 2023.
Records January 2024 also show that the last task Mohammad Construction completed for Mable C. Smith Park was to request a structure inspection.
During a council work session Monday, Rob Stone, the city’s director of construction management, said the remaining work at Mable C. Smith Park is a building that is about 50 percent complete.
“The big concern was some issues that we saw internally, they put in some deficiencies that couldn’t pass inspections…,” Stone said. “It’s just a few little things they need to fix.”
Stone said there is about $700,000 left on the contract and he expects the project to be re-bid within 30 days and completed in 4 to 6 months.
City records show that lighting work on the tennis court at Mazarick Park was completed in January 2024 and that the redesign of the tennis center was underway. In July 2023The building’s completion date was extended due to the project changing to a metal building.
Records Posted on the agenda for Monday’s City Council work session show that tennis center design work is complete, but tennis center construction work will be put out for re-bid.
Stone told council members that officials are working to combine what remains for work on the tennis site and tennis courts into a single contract.
He said officials are determining what work has been completed and what still needs to be done.
He estimated that about 75% of the work has been completed for the site works and about 20% has been completed for the courts.
About $715,000 remains on those contracts, which Stone said he expects to go back out to bid for in 2 to 3 weeks.
Parks and Recreation Director Michael Gibson said he doesn’t expect the city to add more money to what’s left.
How are contractors chosen?
Bymer said contractors bidding on city projects are evaluated during the request for proposals and request for qualifications process, which city officials evaluate based on several questions to other cities the contractors list as references. observation
Questions include:
• Has the city done business with the contractor before?
• How many projects were carried out with the contractor?
• What types of projects were carried out with the contractor?
• How long are the projects?
• Were change orders issued or project time extended?
• Was the work completed on time and within budget?
• Would you do business with the contractor again?
• Did you have any safety concerns with the contractor?
Former Parks Vice President: Fayetteville Paid Millions to a Contractor, But Projects Were Not Completed
Titles
Records provided to The Fayetteville Observer show the Rose Hill Road sidewalk project bond for Mohammad Construction was foreclosed in June 2022 with Based in California Wings of the Eagle Fund 1 LLC represented by Ronald Baptiste.
Batiste could not be reached for comment Thursday, and a voicemail associated with his number was full.
The contract also stated that the project would be a joint venture with Eagle Environmental & Construction Inc., which shares the same 1485 Bayshore Blvd., Suite 374 address in San Francisco as Wings of Eagle Fund 1 LLC.
Filings with the North Carolina Secretary of State also show that Wings of Eagle Funds 1 shares the same office in North Carolina with Mohammad Mohammad at 5109 Hollyridge Drive, Suite 102 in Raleigh.
Records show the Mable C. Smith Park Recreation Center project awarded to Mohammad Construction was financed in March 2023 by New Life Fidelity Inc.
Filings with the North Carolina Secretary of State show that Mohammad Mohammad also has Nova Vida Fidelidade Inc. and that its address 3919 Beryl Road in Raleigh is the location of a post office.
Mohammad Mohammad also provided the performance guarantee for the Mazarick Park tennis court project through New Life Fidelty LLC in March 2023.
Can contractors bond?
Bymer said contractors cannot bond in Fayetteville.
An assistant professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Government said state law requires performance and payment guarantees when contracts for a public works project exceed $300,000.
O law requires that performance and payment bonds “be executed by one or more surety companies legally authorized to do business in the state of North Carolina,” said Crista M. Cuccaro, assistant professor of public law and government at the School of Government.
“Given the purpose of a bond, it would seem counterintuitive (and highly unlikely) to have a construction company serve as a guarantor on a bond,” Cuccaro said.
Other bidders
According to city records, other bidders on the projects Mohammad Mohammad Construction was awarded were:
• Cooper Tacia General Contracting Co. offered $3.84 million for the Mazarick Park Tennis Center construction project and was linked to Gray Insurance Co.
• Lanier Construction Co. offered $1.95 million for the Rosehill Road sidewalk project and was linked to Liberty Mutual Surety, The Ohio Casualty Insurance Co.
• Msquare Construction Inc. offered $1.73 million for the Mable C. Smith project and was linked to American Alternative Insurance Corp.
• WB Brawley Co. provided $2.25 million for the Mable C. Smith Park project and was associated with Travelers Casualty and Surety Co. of America.
Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3528.
This article originally appeared in The Fayetteville Observer: Update on contractor who left Fayetteville projects incomplete
