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ABOUT THE CLAIM
The YA Surety Team was called in by the surety backing an almost $10MM bonded project after the general contractor defaulted. The construction project involved the conversion of a long‑vacant warehouse on an active military base in the Southeast. The end goal: modern office lofts. Adaptive reuse projects like this are common in government and military work but demand specialized oversight. Our role as surety bond claim investigator and consultant required evaluating the project from both a bond‑obligation standpoint and a technical construction and engineering perspective, then advise the surety on its options.
ABOUT THE INVESTIGATION
Deploying to the base required extensive coordination with military personnel, that included security checks, and clearance procedures that made site access more complex. Once on-site, our surety experts found the project in a seriously stalled state: framing incomplete and large portions of the scope untouched. Progress already four to six months behind schedule, which is why the general contractor had already been defaulted.
ABOUT THE RESOLUTION
While a relet would likely be the surety’s best course of action, the local labor pool would pose an additional challenge. In a small, close‑knit community, most qualified tradespeople had either worked on the project under the defaulted GC or knew its troubled history. This made assembling a fresh, conflict‑free team difficult. Our recommendation to the surety was to bring in a vetted completion contractor with proven adaptive reuse experience but also familiarity with military installation protocols.
To help control costs and improve scheduling, the surety team knew it had to:
1. Look beyond the immediate geographic radius to expand the pool of qualified trades, avoiding over‑reliance on local crews already tied to the project.
2. Bypass labor brokers to keep contracting relationships direct and transparent.
The surety accepted this approach. With the completion contractor in place and YA Group providing ongoing oversight, the project was brought back on track. It was ultimately finished according to specifications, with the new team transforming the warehouse into functional office lofts while mitigating losses to the surety.
ABOUT GUARDIAN & YA GROUP
Surety companies rely on the unique combination of technical construction and engineering expertise and surety claim investigation skills found at today’s YA Group. YA offers clients the most complete suite of surety bond consulting services available anywhere. Over 700 experts across the U.S., as well as in Mexico and England, stand ready to assist with consultations on claims, project oversight, and complex construction challenges. From everyday contract and commercial claims to the most difficult and delayed projects, you can leverage the claim and construction experience you need to limit your exposures, quickly and confidently resolving your claims. Kindly call on the surety experts at YA Group today.