U.S. Grant to Collect for Defective Work

The recently renovated U.S. Grant Hotel in downtown San Diego was awarded $352,000 Thursday by the American Arbitration Assn., which ruled that a contractor defectively restored the building’s 1910 facade.

The three-member arbitration panel found that the Nielsen Construction Co. of San Diego used products intended for the hotel’s interior to make renovations on the hotel’s exterior, resulting in unsightly paint chips.

“The paint chipped and exposed areas that can be seen on both sides of the building from Broadway and 4th Avenue,” said John Hershberger, the hotel’s attorney, adding that falling paint may have posed a danger for pedestrians who walk by the 11-story structure.

Representatives of Nielsen were not available for comment.

Hershberger said the hotel will seek additional money from other parties for their involvement in faulty segments of the $80-million renovation project, which started in 1979. The hotel opened almost two years ago.

The formal hearing between the hotel and the contractor took place in July and included testimony from various construction personnel and expert witnesses. The decision was delivered Thursday.