The end of the Bellevue Heights project is in sight after more than 17 years with the new deadline set for June 30, 2017. (Photo by Paula Muller)
By Bridget Turcotte
SAUGUS — More than 17 years later, the Bellevue Heights project has an end date.
Developer John Mallon proposed a timeline for the remaining components of the project, with a deadline for completion of June 30, 2017. The Planning Board is willing to work with Mallon, but others are losing patience.
“Why do we have to give him until June 30?” said Scott Brazis, a member of the Board of Selectmen. “I think these people have suffered long enough. Give the guy until the middle of May. Hold his feet to the fire and get the job done.”
Brazis indicated that once the deadline passes, Mallon can be fined about $500 per day until the job is done.
“Come June 30, when we don’t have any work done up there, we’re all going to be back here again, arguing,” he said.
Original plans outlined 17 years ago included a 28-lot subdivision with single-family homes. Since then, 21 houses have been built and are occupied.
A retaining wall collapsed in 2008. Three houses were sold and moved to different lots, but the wall remains unfinished at the site, with Procopio Construction Company working to repair it.
The board previously asked Mallon to complete the project by Sept. 15. The deadline came and went, and work remains unfinished.
At the board’s Oct. 20 meeting, Mallon reported the retaining wall is 90 percent completed. Curbing has been installed on both sides of the road, but not repaired on the east side. The sidewalks are not finished and the jersey barriers have not been moved to their proper positions.
New signs with the proper spelling of Hitching Hill Road need to be installed. The road needs to be paved, nine trees are yet to be planted, and a grass strip between the sidewalk and the street needs to be installed.
To repair the wall, the construction company is drilling into the cliff and inserting 10- to 15-foot spikes into the rock. Each block locks into the row below, above, and next to it, said Peter Rossetti, chairman of the Planning Board.
“From what I understand, it’s a great engineering project,” he said.
Mallon said he would inform the panel of specific construction dates on April 1, but the board negotiated to move the update to March 1.
He will be held responsible for installing necessary fencing and having the jersey barriers in place by Nov. 17.
During the winter months, Mallon will maintain the roadway by plowing, sanding and salting.
All other work will be completed by the end of June. Should he miss any of the deadlines, a surety bond of $50,000 will be seized to finish the work. Mallon estimates it will cost about $65,000.
“We’re not opposed to the extension,” said Ferruccio Romeo, who lives on Hitching Hill Road with his wife Joanne. “This has to be the drop dead, last extension. If this goes on any longer.. It’s outrageous in our opinion. We want the project done but we want it done correctly.”
Bridget Turcotte can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @BridgetTurcotte