Builders claim low-income housing company owes them

Six subcontractors have filed claims to recover money they said was owed to them for construction of Real Property Services Corp.'s North Las Vegas headquarters.

Companies affiliated with Real Property Services own five low-income multi-family apartment complexes in the Las Vegas Valley and have planned at least three others. Though praised by local and state housing officials, the company has been called one of the nation's worst landlords by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development because of alleged problems at more than 40 HUD-subsidized properties in other states.

The claims were filed in Clark County District Court within the past two months. The total amount of money sought by the six companies for work performed last year is $285,509 plus interest. One of the subcontractors also filed a separate lawsuit to recover money related to construction of one of the apartment complexes.

Among the defendants are Brooks Avenue LLC and Urban Construction Co. LLC, companies affiliated with Real Property Services owner Allan Bird. Bird was out of town and could not be reached for comment. Arnold Stalk, his vice president, said he was unaware of the claims and would not comment on them.

Instead Stalk suggested the real story was the work their company was doing in the community to assist the poor.

"Do you have any idea about the people who are suffering in this town?" Stalk said. "We have the highest teen pregnancy rate, and we have people dying of AIDS."

The claims cover work performed on the headquarters at 818 W. Brooks Ave., which opened earlier this year. Real Property Services, whose portfolio has been estimated at more than $500 million, moved to North Las Vegas from Southern California.

Some of the claims name one of the subcontractors, Morley Investments & Construction of Las Vegas, as a defendant. But Morley filed its own $86,397 foreclosure action to satisfy a mechanics lien against Urban Construction, citing the latter company as the general contractor for the building project. Morley alleged it was not paid for labor or materials that were provided beginning May 1998.

Other foreclosures to satisfy liens were filed by: ARC Materials Corp., doing business as CSR of Las Vegas, $31,871 for rock, brick and other concrete products; Century Steel Inc. of Las Vegas, $70,613 for furnishing and installing reinforced and structural steel; and MEC Contracting Inc., doing business as Martin Electric of North Las Vegas, $64,395 for labor and electrical materials.

Silver State Electric Supply Co. of Las Vegas filed a mechanics lien to recover $24,233 for electrical materials. Harold Anderson, doing business as Anderson Sandblasting, also sued Morley Investments to recover $8,000 for sandblasting work.

MEC Contracting also filed a lawsuit last week against Urban Construction and Joshua Villas LLC, another Bird company. The lawsuit alleged that MEC Contracting, doing business as Martin Electric, was owed $124,796 for work performed at the Joshua Villas complex on East Cheyenne Avenue.

Representatives of Urban Construction and Brooks Avenue LLC have not yet responded to the claims, according to court records.

The Sun reported in June on alleged problems with Real Property Services housing projects in other states. Bird and his company were suspended from doing future business with the federal government after HUD reported that more than 40 of his properties failed physical or financial inspections.

Bird responded in an interview that he did all he could to maintain his properties but that HUD reneged on promises to him.

Bird and companies he is affiliated with received more than $35 million in state-approved construction bonds for his Southern Nevada housing projects after he was suspended by HUD. State and local housing officials, conceding they were unaware of Bird's suspension, have praised him for his efforts to provide affordable low-income housing locally.

The bonds for his projects do not involve taxpayer dollars but enable Bird to borrow money for construction at lower than standard commercial rates.

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