We’re hearing from subcontractors who worked on one business owner’s failed project to install ADUs and say they are still owed money for work completed.
A business owner facing complaints about unfinished projects is under fresh scrutiny as subcontractors describe how delays began to pile up when their efforts were redirected to his newly purchased investment property.
Calvin Sangster is a licensed electrician who runs a small business and with his partner and wife Vanessa Sangster.
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Several years ago, Calvin Sangster met Derek Thomas of Incremental Developers, whose business model specializes in accessory dwelling units (ADUs), which commonly involve renovating garage or basement spaces into rental units.
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In 2022, Calvin Sangster did the electrical work for several finished ADU projects tied to the City of Boston program that provides up to $50,000 in interest-free loans. However, other projects started running into delays.
As the NBC10 Investigators have reported, some customers eventually fired Thomas from their ADU projects, and both customers and subcontractors believe they’re still owned money.
“The turning point was a house in Salem that (Thomas) purchased,” Calvin Sangster said.
Investigations
Property records show Thomas purchased that home in 2023 for $520,000 and took out a short-term hard money loan to flip the property and turn it into a multi-family residence.
Vanessa Sangster spent weeks commuting to the project site from her home in Rhode Island and working on the Salem property.
She and her husband estimate the house received well over six figures of renovations.
“It was very extensive,” Vanessa Sangster said. “It had all new wiring, new electrical panels and new service. Everything inside the property is new. It was extreme.”
At the same time, the Sangsters said Thomas’ other projects with customers stalled. That includes three homeowners we interviewed who eventually fired Thomas from their ADU projects: Jeff Klein and Rachel Shuler in Brighton; Rosalba Solis in Jamaica Plain; and Nil Silva and Sarah Fisher in Dorchester.
“It was like we were told to forget about all the other jobs we had going on and just come to (the property in Salem) every day,” Calvin Sangster said. “The other projects paused, absolutely.”
Outside of Boston, we also found an example in Swampscott, where a homeowner sued Thomas after spending more than $40,000 on a backyard ADU project that never got off the ground, according to the lawsuit.
That customer now has a lien on Thomas’ Salem property. In court documents, the homeowner accuses Thomas of using his project funds to pay for the renovations at the investment property, a claim the contractor denies.
Last week, a Lynn District Court judge ordered Thomas to produce financial records related to the property at 46 Bridge St in Salem. Judge Sarah Joss also approved the plaintiff’s request to have Thomas provide documentation on how many ADU projects he has completed.
The customer complaints and legal disputes run contrary to Thomas’ public image, where he portrays himself as an ADU expert.
Thomas was quoted in a recent Boston Globe article and he appeared as a guest speaker at a town meeting in Swampscott about ADU projects last October.
During the meeting, the moderator asked if Thomas had any success stories he would like to share with the audience.
“Yeah, all of them,” Thomas responded.
Through his attorney, John Entner, Thomas denied wrongdoing with any of the ADU projects.
The business owner also said any suggestion that he used customer funds on the investment property was “categorically false.”
Calvin and Vanessa Sangster can’t say with certainty, but the couple has a very strong hunch about what went wrong with the customer projects.
The electricians said Thomas still owes them roughly $6,000 for all the work they did last year at the property in Salem. Through his attorney, Thomas denied that claim and said he has paid every invoice the Sangsters have sent to him.
As we previously reported, a spokesperson with the Boston Inspectional Services Department said Thomas would not be approved for future ADU projects that involve taxpayer funds. A spokesperson with the City of Boston’s Office of Housing confirmed that decision as recently as last Friday.
Thomas and his attorney said they are working to schedule a meeting with the City of Boston to discuss the situation.
“As a general matter, my client categorically denies any wrongdoing regarding the City of Boston, the homeowners featured in the NBC10 report, or any other cities, homeowners or subcontractors,” Entner wrote. “The contracts and legal relationship between all of the parties have been clear from the start, and my client has acted well within its contractual obligations and rights at all times.” Thomas said one of the homeowners, Klein in Brighton, still owes a payment on his project and the contractor is prepared to begin the process of a mechanic’s lien to secure collection of the debt.
Klein says Thomas owes him money because he did nowhere near $78,000 worth of work. He is among the homeowners who filed complaints with the AG’s office and OCABR
Meantime, several homeowners have submitted complaints to the Massachusetts Attorney General and the state’s Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation against Thomas’ home improvement contractor registration. The OCABR cases are pending and could result in fines or discipline, depending on what a hearing officer decides.
“I feel disappointed and a bit angry,” Vanessa Sangster said. “You expect to get what’s due to you at the end of a project and (Thomas) jeopardized that not just for me but my family as well. I think he definitely needs to be held responsible for his actions.”
