The owners of a new retail development in Southpark Meadows, along with leaseholder Gold’s Gym, face 14 mechanics liens worth nearly $2 million in total.
The development, known as South Congress Station, was planned and undertaken by Dallas development firm Encore Enterprises in mid 2017. Located at 8900 South Congress Ave., the retail development spans 53,000 square feet with the 32,000-square-foot Gold’s Gym as its anchor.
Other businesses that plan to lease retail space at South Congress Station include BBVA, Pet Supermarket, DECA Dental, Schlotsky’s, and a new H-E-B supermarket location, part of the company’s planned $200 million investment in Austin stores. Resolut RE and Retail Solutions have been handling many of the leasing agreements.
The project is titled “ER South by South Congress” in Austin city records.
ER South by South Congress, LLC, a Dallas-based company, is the owner of the property, which is located at 8900 South Congress Avenue in Austin. Westport Group, Inc. is the general contractor on the projects. Westport is based out of Round Rock, Texas.
Construction on South Congress Station started in March 2018.
Liens on Gold’s Gym and South Congress Station total over $1 Million
14 subcontractors have filed mechanics liens on the property for unpaid invoices. General contractor Westport Group has filed a lien against the property as well. The total amount owed to contractors is $1.87 million. Each mechanics lien was filed in Travis County where the property is located.
The majority of the liens were recorded against the owner, ER South by South Congress, and one was filed against the tenant, Gold’s Gym.
Gold’s Gyms in Austin and Washington State have been the subject of lien claims of late, as the company filed for bankruptcy in May 2020.
The mechanics lien claims have yet to be released.
Westport Group, Inc. entered into an original contract with ER South by South Congress in 2018. The agreed-upon work is described as “commercial construction of a strip shopping center.” Westport filed a mechanics lien for the full contract price of $1,429,713.09 on June 4th, 2020 after going unpaid for the materials and services they provided for the construction project.
W6 Construction, LLC filed three separate mechanics liens on the construction project, claiming a total of $86,187.90 for concrete work completed between January and May of 2020, each one against ER South by South Congress.
Alamo Concrete Products, a concrete supplier on the Gold’s Gym project, supplied “batched concrete materials” to Mine Services, Inc., a first-tier subcontractor to Westport Group. Alamo filed their mechanics lien for the overdue amount of $88,827.82 on March 26th, 2020. Alamo furnished the materials for the project’s improvement in October and December of 2019 and January and February of 2020.
Sure Seal, LLC filed a mechanics lien on April 15th, 2020 to the amount of $49,725. Sure Seal was hired by Westport for labor and materials involved with moisture proofing. They provided their materials and services in December 2019 through March 2020. Sure Seal is based in Hondo, Texas.
Rochester Flooring Resources filed a mechanics lien claim for $27,013.97 on June 17th, 2020 for labor and services provided for the Gold’s Gym project. Rochester provided their flooring services under contract with Westport on March 31st, 2020.
All American Pro Electric, LLC filed two mechanics liens: one against ER and the other against Gold’s Texas Holding Group. The lien against ER was filed on April 15th, 2020 to the amount of $45,205.61. The lien against Gold’s was also filed on April 15th to the amount of $27,947. Westport contracted All American for both projects.
Montecello Masonry Enterprises, LLC filed a mechanics lien on April 15th, 2020 for the amount of $81,186.30 for labor and materials provided from January through February 2020.
The remaining four mechanics liens associated with South Congress Station include:
- A lien from Paratex Construction recorded on June 3rd, 2020 for the unpaid amount of $34,976.40.
- A lien from Upchurch Kimbrough Company, a supplier to Montecello Masonry, to the amount of $12,478.14, filed on June 15th, 2020.
- A lien from Lynn-Con, recorded on May 15th, 2020, for the amount of $1,729. Lynn-Con was contracted by Club Resource Group (CRG).
- A lien from ACME Brick Company, filed on June 5th, 2020, for the amount of $1,142.01. ACME furnished material for Montecello.
Austin Retail Development “Red-Hot” In Spite of COVID-19
According to a 2017 Austin Business Journal report, the retail scene in Austin is red-hot. The figures today show that retail space remains in high demand. Weitzman recently released a figure that put the Austin area’s retail occupancy at 96%, making the market incredibly tight.
Mixed-use developments, such as superstore-anchored properties like South Congress Station, are partially to blame for the tight squeeze. Along with limited real estate, prices for retail space in Austin have never been higher, especially for property in hip areas such as South Congress and Southpark Meadows.
With companies’ desires to expand, limited space, and high prices, developers are nowhere near ready to cease construction on new retail projects. In spite of the coronavirus pandemic, construction that was already underway is expected to be finished more or less on-schedule.
However, projects planned for the future are to expect delays until the market is more stable, a prediction that is yet too early to make.