Lawsuit halts construction of new Horry County government building in Carolina Forest

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WMBF) – The company behind a lawsuit related to a major construction project in Horry County says it is not getting paid and ultimately wants to put taxpayer dollars to work again.

Subcontractors hired to work on the $20 million building say they haven’t been paid by Cooper Tacia, according to a lawsuit filed earlier this month.

Cooper Tacia has been hired by the county as the general contractor for the new Central Coast Complex in Carolina Forest. The 43,000-square-foot building will house the county’s new police station, county administrative offices and district courthouse — all in one of Horry County’s fastest-growing areas.

Carolina Utilities owners Lance Tyler and Brandon Lawrence say they are losing more than $300,000 for more than 120 days of work. They also say Cooper Tacia terminated their contract in August.

“They just unfairly fired us and the concrete contractor,” Lawrence said. “That’s why you don’t see a lot of work today.”

Now, that means efforts to complete construction have stalled, which Tyler says is a problem for the entire community.

“It’s almost a million dollars between two subcontractors,” he said. “Us and the one in Charleston who’s doing the foundation. Depending on how much Cooper Tacia has already been paid, that’s taxpayer money on hold.”

Earlier this week, Horry County provided WMBF News with the following statement regarding the lawsuit:

“The prime contractor for the project was acquired by the County through a standard government procurement process involving a request for proposals and selection of bids. The prime contractor has the right to use subcontractors who work directly for the contractor, and the County is not involved in this process. The County is currently monitoring the matter between the contractor and its selected subcontractors. The County values the work of all those involved in the project and we will work to ensure that all obligations of all parties are met.”

Representatives for Cooper Tacia did not respond to a request for comment Friday.

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