On the surface it doesn’t look like a big deal: A housing development proposed to include 28 homes now has 21 built and occupied. People call Saugus’ Bellevue Heights home but town officials view the subdivision as an incomplete project, 18 years after its initial construction.
Planning Board members say developer John Mallon is responsible for paying a $10,000 electric bill to keep street lights on in Bellevue Heights. They are not alone in their complaints: At least one subdivision resident said a panoramic view of Saugus is marred by jersey barriers and construction equipment sitting on an undeveloped lot.
Mallon’s nearly two decade-long fight with the town over his project is not beyond resolution. He told board members outstanding work will cost $65,000 to complete. The town is holding a surety bond worth $50,000 on the project and officials say it will be seized and applied to completion costs if some sort of middle ground can’t be staked out with Mallon.
Now is the time for someone with persuasion skills and some knowledge of construction and development to broker a deal between the board and Mallon. Maybe the bond can be combined with money provided by Mallon to pay for the project’s completion.
Maybe the town can meet Mallon halfway on his requests to take possession of a lot he wants to develop and negotiate his request to get the bond reduced.
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The town’s impatience with Mallon is understandable: 18 years is a long time to wait for a developer to finish a project. Then again, Mallon has argued that a retaining wall collapse and the economic and housing market collapse in 2008 threw obstacles in his way when it came to finishing Bellevue Heights.
Anyone who has ever negotiated a contract or brokered a deal knows there comes a time when the potential cost of disagreeing exceeds the expense of compromising. The time for compromise over Bellevue Heights has arrived. If they cannot strike a deal, the next stop for the town and Mallon will be a courtroom and an expensive legal battle.
Mallon’s credibility as a local developer has already been damaged by the Bellevue Heights battle, meaning he has the most to lose if he cannot reach a resolution over the subdivision’s problems.
Saugus, on the other hand, is not interested in jumping into the development business and spending money on tying up Bellevue Height’s loose ends. It is time for a town leader to step up and bring the project to completion.