Summary of The Article
Disaster in April: Obligations of Kelly Constructions
The article titled Disaster in April: Obligations of Kelly Constructions written by J. D. Macomber, C. Gordon and B. Creo tells about the building company Kelly Construction. In April, 2006 the company faced an unhappy event: ten stories of a 15 stories Thoreau College dormitory and student center fell down in Boston. During the accident three people were killed. The company needed to assure the investors and the publicity that everything would be well in the end.
Kelly Constructions has a more than 100 years history. It took part in construction of several Boston landmarks. Previously, it was a family firm owned by Kelly’s family. The last Kelly named Paul reorganized the firm. In 2003 the company hired a new CEO from the outside. Recently, the firm encountered financial problems and delays in the construction. The project described in the article was a construction for the Modern Art Center in Boston. Ambitions of a fast developing museum required new premises to relocate all the art objects. Kelly Constructions was selected according to its reputation as a well known local firm with a good history. The problem occurred not only because of fall down of another Kelly Construction’s object but also due to delays in the construction of a museum as well.
The project of course conducted and supervised not only by the Kelly Constructions alone. The MAC representatives, the architects, Norska Company and New Have Surety Company also took part in the construction. The last joined the committee and participated in meeting after the tragedy. Sam Cohen, Chairman of the Building Committee for the MAC, suggested that the case should be delivered to the Norska Company. It was a topic for negotiations. The meetings showed that the Kelly Constructions had three options: declaring of bankruptcy, attracting of a new capital or a wind-down, when every project run by the company is developed according to an individual plan. As a result, all the participants got round the table to discuss how to get out of the situation. Paul Kelly was the one to make the final decision.
