May 17, 2024
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Lawsuit alleges developers for Fox River Grove apartment complex have not paid contractors

Dispute will not affect project’s permitting process, village official says

By Aaron Dorman
A man walks past the foundation walls of a five-story, 100-unit apartment building in downtown Fox River Grove on May 2, 2022, Work has stopped on the building after developers received a demolition permit in August and a limited permit in November that allowed the construction of footings for the building and foundation walls. That work is now complete and work cannot continue until the village signs off on the final plans.

A man walks past the foundation walls of a five-story, 100-unit apartment building in downtown Fox River Grove on May 2, 2022. Work has stopped on the building until the village signs off on the final plans and issues permits. (Gregory Shaver - gshaver@shawmedia.com/Gregory Shaver for Shaw Media )

The contractor that built the concrete foundation for a new apartment complex in Fox River Grove, whose further construction has been on hold for permitting reasons, accused the developer of never paying them for the work.

Spancrete of Illinois filed a complaint late last month in McHenry County court seeking the foreclosure of a mechanics lien against Grove Residences LLC and other relief. The complaint alleges the developer owes them $1.5 million for work they did over the fall and winter to build the two-story foundation along Algonquin Road.

Grove Residences has yet to pay the company anything, according to the complaint.

Kirk Rustman, a representative for the developer, declined to comment on case or the company’s financial situation, but said the company was proceeding as planned with the development and getting the necessary village permits.

“We are working on it, just like we were before,” Rustman said. “Nothing has really changed. We are working getting permits to go forward and pay everybody.”

Work on the apartment complex at 401 Algonquin Road near Route 14 has been stopped for months with only the concrete frames of the first two floors and the underground parking lot constructed.

Developers have proposed building a five-story, 100-unit apartment complex.

Village officials have been working through the permitting process with the developer and first learned of the case on Wednesday morning via a social media post, Village Administrator Derek Soderholm said.

Fox River Grove Village Administrator Derek Soderholm fields questions on Tuesday, May 3, 2022, about several downtown development projects, including a partially constructed apartment complex off of Algonquin Road that is now the subject of a complaint for foreclosure.

Fox River Grove Village Administrator Derek Soderholm fields questions on Tuesday, May 3, 2022, about several downtown development projects, including a partially constructed apartment complex off of Algonquin Road that is now the subject of a lawsuit. (Aaron Dorman)

Whether or when the contractor might get paid had no bearing on the village’s ability to issue permits, Soderholm said, adding that issues between private companies and developers are not uncommon.

“The village is still working towards a successful project here being constructed to completion,” Soderholm said.

Spancrete filed a mechanics lien with the McHenry County Recorder’s Office and is requesting the court step in to ensure it gets the money it says it is owed, according to the lawsuit.

A hearing date is scheduled for July 26, court records show.