Another local development is putting businesses on edge by withholding payment in the hundreds of thousands.
Joining at least three other Squamish projects with dozens of liens for outstanding debts is the new Holiday Inn on Discovery Way.
Three local businesses and 15 Lower Mainland companies have filed liens against Squamish JV Limited over unpaid work and material at the Holiday Inn, and two more builder's lien applications are pending.
During its two-year construction, most of the work was subcontracted to Colter Developments, a well-known business based in Richmond.
Crews worked around the clock to finish the hotel in time for the Olympic rush, then the money stopped coming and checks started bouncing, according to Colter vice-president Kelly Leroux.
Leroux wouldn't disclose what the company is owed, but said the delays have caused a domino effect since the company hasn't been able to pay local businesses Pipeline Mechanical and Granite Art Masonry for their services or the local Rona outlet for $30,000 to $40,000 worth of building material.
It's also caused hardship to the family-run business itself.
"We've had to downsize because of this. We've had to lay off people and it hurts our reputation," said Leroux.
Colter filed a lien against the Squamish JV Limited towards the end of March.
Squamish JV represents the investor group behind the Holiday Inn project, which includes Lanis Anthony and Vancouver realtor Steve Marshall.
Marshall did not provide comment when contacted, however Anthony said the investor group is currently undergoing a restructuring, which is one of the reasons monies haven't been paid.
"The liens are still owed because we are restructuring," she said.
"We are doing our very best to restructure the hotel property and its related parties in order to keep the hotel a going concern.
"We're doing our best to keep the hotel open and make the best decisions for the sake of the hotel, its staff and your community."
Although Squamish JV is being named in legal documents, Calgary-based Venture West Hotels Group representative Brian Ostrander had originally been linked to the project. Ostrander promoted his company as the project proponent on his website www.bostrander.ca.
The website's link to the Squamish Holiday Inn project has now been deactivated and the Venture West Hotels Group website has also been decommissioned.
Attempts to contact Ostrander were unsuccessful, and Anthony did not return follow up calls regarding Ostrander's involvement.
Leroux said the project was on shaky financial ground the whole time, with several late payments occurring over its duration, however he decided to stick it out.
"We continued anyways because once you get in so deep you have to finish, but we notified the investor group in October and were assured we would get paid if we had the hotel open for the Olympics," said Leroux.
Pipeline Mechanical president Mike Schulte said he's never had a late payment of this size on a local project, and its led to hard times for his business. His lien is currently the only one pending litigation.
"The amount they owe us is substantial," said Schulte. "The first draws that we had were totally smooth and then the payments started getting later and later."
Vancouver IT business owner Grant Cheeseman said he's still owed $8,000. His small independent company, Lodgecom Hospitality Solutions, installed Internet for the hotel after receiving a 25 per cent deposit the other 75 per cent is outstanding.
"It's put my back against the wall in a lot of areas," he said. "I'm a small business so for me that amount is quite substantial."
After the system was installed, he said he couldn't get hold of his contact at Venture West. It wasn't until he turned off the Internet for a few hours, which he has the power to do, that the investor group contacted him.
He has been in communication with them since then and said he believes this investor group is trying their best to sort out the debts. However, he said, he's unsure who is responsible as his contract was with Squamish JV but it was Venture West that accepted his bid.
"Before, I didn't really know who the investors were," he said. "But to me, this Venture West company, I just think to put people in this situation and not communicate to them was very well, I would never do business with them again, that's for sure."
Despite the outstanding payment, Cheeseman said he's still answering the 1-800 number for Internet complications from Holiday Inn hotel guests.
