Manly Corso: Clifford Constructions voluntary administration leaves $12m church project unfinished
A $12m project to upgrade a row of shops on Manly’s tourist strip is on hold after the builders went into voluntary administration, with several contractors thousands of dollars out of pocket.
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A $12m project to revamp parts of Manly’s Corso has been halted, after its builders went into voluntary administration, with several contractors thousands of dollars out of pocket.
St Matthews Church brought in Clifford Constructions Pty Ltd to completely renovate a parade of shops, create classrooms on the first floor, and extend upwards with a second floor to incorporate a 180-seat auditorium and cafe, as well as a large basement underneath the entire property.
The company went into voluntary administration on April 30.
Tim Evans, spokesman for the church said they are now having to find a new head builder willing to take on someone else’s work.
“This is the least ideal situation to be in,” he said.
“It will be expensive.”
Mr Evans said he was aware that some contractors have yet to be paid by Clifford Constructions for work already done.
He said his project manager was talking to contractors to see if they are willing to complete the rest of the work on the shops if they can come to some deal on the payment.
He said the church has already paid Clifford Constructions for the work.
However, if they cannot come to a deal with the contractors they will have to also find other builders to finish that work too.
A source has told the Manly Daily some contractors are owed “a lot of money” with sums as
large as $200,000.
Stewart Free, voluntary administrator for Jirsch Sutherland, said it was too early to say how much some of the creditors are owed, but he would not be surprised if figures are that high.
Mr Free said a meeting with the creditors will be held on May 12.
The Manly Daily has contacted Clifford Constructions for comment.
Meanwhile, the hoarding which went up at the end of 2018 is still up on Manly’s main shopping precinct.
In a 2018 interview Mr Evans said an optimistic target for the hoarding to come down would be summer 2019/2020, but it would probably take longer.
Earlier this year he revised his prediction to April 2020.
This week he said the shop fit-outs are a priority and they will be done by the end of June.
“We are community people,” Mr Evans said.
“We will get the building work done, it may not be on the timeline we want.”
He said 75 to 80 per cent of the total build has been done.
However, the fit out of the auditorium which was to include a kitchen and cafe may be put on hold because of the escalating costs of hiring a new builder.
“The internal fit out upstairs may have to wait,” Mr Evans said.
He added that “150 per cent the shops will be getting done, it’s an absolute priority”.
He revealed four retailers have committed to the units, with others interested in the other three.
The church has previously stated it would not be accepting $2 shops because it was looking for a higher class of tenant, possibly iconic brands that are currently not in Manly.