Remember the giant tower crane in Lacey? It’s now the focus of a recent lawsuit
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- Mayfield’s seeks to foreclose a lien recorded for $539,777.28 on Sept. 23, 2025.
- Mayfield’s alleges Homes on Martin stopped construction five months after Sept. 2023.
- The crane was dismantled in July 2025, and a hearing to set trial is July 10.
A former tower crane that loomed over Martin Way East in Lacey for about two years is now the focus of a recent lawsuit filed in Thurston County Superior Court.
The suit primarily seeks to foreclose on a lien – a legal claim placed on property – and recoup about $540,000 for breach of contract.
The lawsuit was filed by Mayfield’s Hoisting Services, a Lynnwood-based business that provides crane equipment and services for the improvement of real property.
The parcel in question is in the 9100 block of Martin Way, and it was to be improved for a future mixed-use development, originally owned and developed by a business called Homes on Martin LP.
Mayfield’s alleges that they entered into a contract with Homes on Martin in September 2023, but five months later Homes on Martin “ceased construction operations on the property.”
Despite that, Mayfield’s alleges that Homes on Martin entered into another agreement to keep the crane there, then renewed its interest to keep the crane at the site in November 2024.
The crane was ultimately dismantled in July 2025, according to the lawsuit.
Meanwhile, the property was sold to a business called 9106 Martin Way LLC and then to DNR Jensen Rentals LLC.
The current co-owner of the property is Randy Jensen, who has ties to both limited liability companies, according to public records. He spoke to The Olympian on Thursday, although he declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Mayfield’s alleges they expected to benefit from that sale to recover their costs, but when that did not happen, they slapped a lien on the property.
“On September 23, 2025, Mayfield’s recorded a mechanic’s lien on the property in the amount of $539,777.28 for work, materials and equipment provided by Mayfield’s for improvement of the property,” the suit reads.
A hearing to set a date for trial is scheduled for July 10, according to Superior Court records.
Project moves forward
The Olympian reached out to two defendants named in the lawsuit: the original owner and developer of the project, and the current owner and developer of it.
The Olympian could not reach a representative of Homes on Martin LP, but did reach Jensen.
Jensen said the mixed-use development, which may or may not be called Homes on Martin, continues to advance. He has owned it about a year, although he thinks it might take another year to 18 months to complete.
When finished, it will have 96 apartments, both one-bedroom and two-bedroom units, plus have ground-floor commercial space and space for storage units. The site also can accommodate a drive-through, he said.
The project was already vested with the city when he acquired it, so rather than start over with something new, Jensen is sticking with the plan, he said.
“It was a ready-to-go build,” Jensen said.
During the two years the crane towered over Lacey, it was the talk of the town. At one point, it even prompted a Lacey planning commissioner to ask: What’s going on?
Lacey Community Planning Manager Ryan Andrews explained the situation to the planning commission as he knew it in August 2024, The Olympian reported.
“Our building department is on it, they’re already communicating with the property owner, and the crane is going to be leaving very soon,” Andrews said. “There’s some patching that they need to do to the street and buttoning up of that site to make sure that we get it stabilized before the wintertime.”
The following summer it would be gone.
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