Despite being under construction for more than two years, the delay-plagued mixed-use building on Springfield Avenue across from the Police & Courts Building is still largely an empty shell.
After numerous assurances by the developer (Daibes, LLC) and builder (Lita Brothers, Inc.) that the project was “on track” for completion, the Maplewood Township Committee’s patience appears to have run out, and it will begin to consider its options to sever its relationship with both.
“…we are very disappointed in the developer and builder, both of which gave us repeated assurances that they would move the project forward,” said Mayor Vic DeLuca in an email Wednesday. “We cannot wait any longer for them and will take whatever course we need to get this building finished.”
“When I went on vacation the building looked exactly like it [does] now,” DeLuca said at Tuesday’s Township Committee meeting, adding that he regularly monitored the building’s status and is in communication with Lita Brothers.
While principals of Lita have said they currently have jurisdiction over the project, DeLuca said that was not possible because the township still has a contract with Daibes.
DeLuca asked Township Counsel Roger Desiderio to explore the township’s avenues for recourse, which include terminating the agreement with Daibes, potentially going to court, and compelling Lita Brothers to “make good” on a $1 million performance bond that expired this June.
The project has been rocky almost from the start, with principals of the developer and the builder appearing several times before the TC — sometimes reluctantly — to explain the various delays.
The TC considered terminating the agreement with Daibes twice before, in 2013 and 2014, but Daibes’ attorney assured them the developer was sincere in its wish to proceed. In April 2014, Daibes submitted the performance bond as a guarantee the project would be completed by June 30, 2015.
In September 2014, representatives from the company told the committee construction had been delayed because of a disagreement with an adjacent property owner as well as issues with environmental contamination, but that both had been resolved and the project would be completed by spring of 2015.
Township Committeeman Marlon K. Brownlee said then that he wanted to keep the project on a “short leash,” and DeLuca told Daibes it would be “keep[ing] an eye” on them.
In June, DeLuca said the project was on track to be completed close to the performance bond deadline, which he called the township’s “ace in the hole.”
On Tuesday, the Mayor asked Desiderio to present the governing body with a list of options for discussion and possible action at the TC’s Sept. 15 meeting.
“Let’s just move forward on this,” DeLuca said.
