Rainstorm dampens hotel's pay purview.

• Author: Speizer, Irwin
• Position: Tar Heel Tattler - Westin Hotel construction setback by J.A. Jones

It seemed like a safe bet during last summer's drought. Trying to stick to its construction schedule for the 25-story, 700-room Westin Hotel beside the Charlotte Convention Center, J.A. Jones Construction Co. started installing interior walls and finishing shafts for plumbing and electrical work before the roof or exterior glass walls were finished. When a gully washer hit in July, 15 floors of interior work were ruined and had to be ripped out and rebuilt, postponing the opening three times, from November to late February.

The setbacks were particularly embarrassing for J.A. Jones. The company built one of the Petronas Twin Towers in Malaysia (the world's tallest buildings) and has contracts to build U.S. embassies around the globe. The fact that it was snookered by a July rainstorm left many around Charlotte scratching their heads.

"I thought, good heavens, these are people who build massive projects all over the world," City Council member Don Lochman says. "I was taken aback by what to me seems to be a relative commonplace thing to occur."

The city is a partner in the project, having contributed $16 million toward construction of the $143...