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$13 Million in Unpaid-Work Claims at Miami Freedom Park: What Your Payables Should Be Telling You

Writer: Douglas Kohn, CPA
Douglas Kohn, CPA
3 days ago
4 min read

On September 24, The Real Deal reported that vendors and subcontractors are going after Miami Freedom Park, the $1 billion mixed-use project built around Nu Stadium, for more than $13 million in work they say has not been paid.


The claims come in two forms. There are two lawsuits: World Electric Supply says it is owed $2.8 million, and millwork contractor Glenn Rieder is seeking nearly $4.2 million. Then there are eight liens filed since May, totaling $6.3 million. The largest, $4 million, was filed by HVAC contractor Hill York. According to the article, more vendors are expected to file once their 90-day windows run out.


We don't know why these bills are unpaid, and it isn't our place to guess. The project's owners did not comment for the story. But the pattern itself is common, and it almost always shows up in the books long before it shows up in court.

Why this is an accounting problem, not only a legal one

Florida's construction lien law (Chapter 713 of the Florida Statutes) runs on a clock. A few dates matter most:


  • Subcontractors and suppliers who don't have a direct contract with the owner must serve a Notice to Owner within 45 days of starting work (s. 713.06).

  • A claim of lien must be recorded no later than 90 days after the last day the vendor furnished labor, services or materials (s. 713.08).

  • Once recorded, a lien generally lasts one year unless a lawsuit is filed to enforce it. An owner can shorten that to 60 days by recording a Notice of Contest of Lien (s. 713.22).


The statute also puts a warning right into the Notice to Owner form: if the owner doesn't make sure lower-tier vendors get paid, the result may be a lien on the property and the owner "paying twice."


That is the accounting risk in plain terms. A developer can pay the general contractor in full, on time, and still end up owing the same money again to a sub or supplier the GC didn't pay. Liens also cloud title, and a clouded title can slow down a construction draw or a refinancing at exactly the wrong moment.


The view from the subcontractor side

The subs are feeling this too. Siteline's 2026 subcontractor billing survey, reported by Contractor Magazine on September 4, found that:


  • 92% of subcontractors paid their own payroll while waiting on customer payments.

  • 43% waited more than 90 days for final payment and retainage.

  • 56% missed a mechanic's lien deadline at least once in the past two years.

  • Errors in pay applications were the biggest internal cause of late payment.


When the people doing the work are carrying that much cash-flow risk, liens are not a surprise. They are the tool subs use to protect themselves.

What your books should show you every month

If you own or develop real estate, these reports should be on your desk every month during construction. None of them require new software. They require someone to own them.


  1. AP aging by vendor, tied to the budget. Not just a general ledger balance. You want to see who is owed what, for how long, and on which budget line.

  2. A Notice to Owner log. Every NTO you receive tells you who is working on your job, even if you have never heard of them. Match each one to a contract and a payment.

  3. Lien waiver tracking. Conditional waivers with each pay app, unconditional waivers once funds clear, including from sub-tier vendors listed on NTOs. Missing waivers are a red flag.

  4. Committed cost vs. paid to date, with retainage broken out. Retainage payable is real money you owe. It should never be buried.

  5. A lien-clock calendar. When a vendor finishes work, note the date. The 90-day window starts there.

  6. A draw reconciliation. What did the lender fund, and where did every dollar go? Each draw should tie out to invoices, payments and waivers before the next one goes in.


When these reports are kept up, unpaid work shows up as an aging balance or a missing waiver months before it becomes a recorded lien.


Where Ultramar Real Estate fits

Ultramar Real Estate provides outsourced accounting and fractional CFO services for real estate and construction companies. We work with developers, owners and property managers on the accounting that sits behind a construction project: AP, draw packages, vendor reconciliations, budget-to-actual reporting and the monthly close.


We are not lawyers, and lien rights are a legal question. This post is general information, not legal advice. If a lien has been filed on your property, call your construction attorney. But making sure you know who you owe, what you've paid and what paperwork proves it? That is accounting work, and it is what we do.


If your project's payables would not hold up to the kind of scrutiny Miami Freedom Park is getting now, talk to a fractional CFO before your vendors' lawyers do. Let's talk.


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