The 89-year-old construction firm that built some of L.A.’s landmark buildings has been forced into bankruptcy proceedings by its creditors.
Peck/Jones Construction Corp. must answer to a Chapter 7 filing made in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles Dec. 14 by one of its clients and two subcontractors who claim they are owed nearly $400,000.
In a filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, Redlands Community Hospital said it was owed at least $358,129,
Paramount-based Diamond National Glass Co. claimed an unpaid debt of $27,182 and Ontario-based TRL Systems Inc. sought $1,575, according to the court documents.
Gregory Jones, the company’s chief executive, declined to discuss the matter, saying, “It’s something I just can’t comment on at this moment.”
Officials of the creditors did not return calls.
The general contractor for the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Great Western Forum, Creative Artists Agency’s headquarters and the original Hollywood Bowl, Peck/Jones is currently constructing Redlands hospital’s new maternity wing, according to the firm’s Web site.
According to data Peck/Jones supplied to the Business Journal for the paper’s list of largest commercial and industrial contractors, the firm ranked No. 10 with 2003 billings of $112 million on projects in L.A. County. It had billings of $118 million nationwide.
Those figures marked a decline from the $147.4 million it billed in L.A. and $349.3 million nationwide in 2000. It did not supply billings in the interim years.
Its employment dropped to 71 from 196 during the same period.
Peck/Jones began in 1915 when Clair L. Peck Sr., a structural engineer, founded C.L. Peck Contractor, which specialized in creating fireproof buildings.
In 1921, Oliver C. Jones and his two brothers, Charles and John, founded Jones Brothers Construction Corp., which originally focused on building studios, schools, office buildings and industrial facilities.
Both companies expanded their portfolios in the ensuing decades, before merging in 1987.
Peck/Jones has a strong foothold in the health care, air transportation, hotel, retail, education, religious, sports, museums, office, manufacturing and parking sectors.
Current and recent projects include construction of Fess Parker’s Park Plaza Hotel in Santa Barbara, the maternity tower at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital in L.A., the women’s health pavilion at California Hospital in L.A. and a parking structure at Long Beach Airport.
