MUSKEGON, MI — The developer of Adelaide Pointe has settled a year-long legal battle with a contractor who was seeking nearly $1 million in damages for unpaid work.

Terra Contractors, a Muskegon-based excavation and underground services company, earlier this month discharged a lien for more than $917,000 it had placed on Adelaide Pointe due October 2023, according to a notice filed with the Muskegon County Register of Real Estate Deeds.

According to county documents, the company began providing work services to the Adelaide Pointe development in October 2022.

Terra claimed Adelaide Pointe paid it only $1.5 million of the $2.4 million in labor and materials. The contractor stopped working for Adelaide Pointe in October 2023 and filed liens on five parcels of land owned by entities related to the development.

However, a joint statement published earlier in September on the Adelaide Pointe Facebook page said the claims made during the legal proceedings “were the result of a misunderstanding”.

“The parties recognise that there were different perspectives and interpretations regarding the construction work carried out by Terra as part of the project,” the statement reads.

“The parties have engaged in meaningful settlement discussions and we are pleased to announce that they have reached an agreement and the dispute has been dismissed.”

Leestma told MLive he decided to settle to protect his clients from being drawn into litigation.

“I think the most important thing is that all the things we said we were going to finish, we finished,” Leestma said. “When you’re talking about an incredibly complex project on the scale of Adelaide Pointe, things are going to come up… But you find solutions, you hammer them out and you move on.”

At the time of publication, Terra Contractors had not immediately responded to a request for comment.

Hudsonville-based Van Spyker Landscaping also had a lien against the Adelaide Pointe property, claiming the developer still owed more than $66,000 on a nearly $108,000 contract. However, the company discharged the lien in August, according to county documents.

RELATED: Adelaide Pointe brings new life to Muskegon Lake

Developer Ryan Leestma’s vision for a $250 million Adelaide Pointe continues to take shape along Muskegon Lake, with several aspects of the project already in the works, including a 169-slip wet marina, a 66,000-square-foot boat storage facility and a Muskegon Brewing Company restaurant and bar.

The project was cited earlier this summer by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) for making unauthorized changes to the original zoning for the marina and two peninsulas on the property.

EGLE is in talks with Leestma to discuss possible solutions to the violations. These could include imposing fines and requiring remediation of environmental damage that may have been caused by the changes.

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