Kenwood Towne Place settlement reached on publicly-financed garage

CINCINNATI - It took four years, but a group of contractors who worked on the parking garage at Kenwood Towne Place will be getting a final paycheck soon. A court-approved settlement will deliver $2.3 million to 14 contractors who filed liens against the project in 2009.

Kenwood Towne Place was a $175 million construction project that stalled in late 2008 when developers ran out of money. That led to one of the most complicated foreclosure cases in Hamilton County’s history and a federal criminal probe that has so far resulted in two indictments for bank fraud.

The Feb. 5 settlement, approved by Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Beth Myers, clears one more hurdle to enable retail developer Phillips Edison & Co. to restart construction on the project.  It will cover $1.25 million in expenses that the Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority said was needed to complete garage construction. It will also let MBJ Consultants close the books on a $404,000 unpaid bill. Company President Monroe Barnes will receive a $252,331 payment from the settlement, roughly 60 percent of what he was owed.

“It’ll help us start looking forward instead of looking backward again,” Barnes said.

Here’s a list of all contractors and payments headed their way because of the settlement: