August 28, 2008 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

Mt. Airy development plagued by delays
by JENNIFER KATZ

A series of construction issues and complaints from at least one neighbor have left a town home development at Devon and Sydney streets in East Mt. Airy a full year behind schedule.

The development, known as The Enclave at Devon, has been in progress for more than two years. Owned by New York attorney Valencia Macon, a former Philadelphian who was profiled in the Local after construction began in 2006, the development will contain 16 upscale town homes. Eight of the homes are finished currently.

For the past two years, the site, nestled between the end of the 200 block of Sydney Street and the Sedgwick train station on SEPTA’s R7 commuter line, has been a constant source of upheaval for neighbors. It has also been a source of frustration for the owner.

Between construction delays and one very vocal neighbor, the project has raised more than dust along the narrow streets that intersect with the development.

Margaret Motheral, who owns the house at the end of the block adjacent to the back of the development, has been complaining to authorities since construction began. Motheral, who is in her 50s and the mother of two grown daughters, moved to Mt. Airy from California several years ago. She is a healer, having graduated from the Barbara Brennan’s School of Science Healing, described as an institute of hands-on healing and personal transformation.

Motheral claims the dust from the construction has made her and her pet sick, even displacing her from her home on more than one occasion. She also said her house has been damaged by the work as well.

“My house is closest to the site and most affected, and I got the worst of the initial digging and demolition,” Motheral said. “I am ill, my cat is ill.”

Motheral raised her concerns with various city departments and community leaders, who have in turn taken a closer look at the project.

Simultaneously, Macon ran into trouble with her initial contacting company, Berrian Associates, of Laverock, which she blames for approaching several key components of the construction improperly.

“This is a case of not having the right person driving the project,” Macon said. “I was misled.”

Thomas M. Berrian, owner of Berrian Associates, denied Macon’s allegations and blamed the delay and issues on city agencies and on the owner.

“She is a good person, but she doesn’t know about construction,” he said.

Among Motheral’s complaints about the construction was that the land the crew was digging up was contaminated. The site had once been the site of a gasoline pump and tank for coal yard trucks, according to 1935 records from the city’s former Department of Public Works that Motheral unearthed.

Berrian said his company removed approximately $280,000 worth of contaminated soil from the site after routine environmental testing. Berrian said proper standards in the removal and disposal of the contaminated soil were followed. The Philadelphia Water Department, however, did cite Berrian for not obtaining proper permits before removing the soil.

Although no other neighbors lodged complaints, some said they could empathize with Motheral and agreed that the project was a hardship on the residents.

“It stinks, it’s horrible,” said Sydney street resident Anne Hesdon. “We have to clean up everyday, keep the house closed up. The cars are filthy.”

Hesdon said the neighbors were aware of Motheral’s efforts to curtail the side effects.

“The lady at the corner tried to do a lot,” Hesdon said. “I have to give her credit.”

Unfortunately, it would appear Motheral was alone and often off-mark in her efforts to address the issues.

Dan Muroff, president of East Mt. Airy Neighbors, a community organizing group, said he never heard from anyone else in the area close to the construction. Muroff said that he was able to address the dust issue with Berrian and Macon, prompted by a complaint from Motheral.

“I did see the dust,” he said. “I called and asked them to wet it down.”

According to Macon, the problems with the project came to a head under Berrian in the fall of 2007. That was when she switched to a new contractor, Permac Construction, Inc., of New York.

In August of 2007, the Water Department discovered that the subcontractor hired to install the sewer line was no longer working on the project. Instead, Berrian’s crew was finishing the installation, which is a violation. Berrian said it was because he couldn’t get the subcontractor back to the site to finish up. In the end, it was the final straw. Macon shut down the project in light of PWD’s censure and ended her relationship with Berrian.

“I took back control,” Macon said. “I hired someone the Water Department recommended, redesigned the floor plans, and put a new product on the market.”

To date, there are eight finished houses on the site. The entrance road is now paved and the work is at a standstill, while Macon markets the completed units.

She is a full-year behind her original schedule and will not say how much money she has spent. There have been other snags as well with the Department of Licenses and Inspections, which cited the project for noncompliance once in August 2007 after Motheral complained about the width of the alleyway adjacent to her house. The approved construction plan was to have the alleyway be four-feet wide. It was corrected. L&I also placed a cease and desist order on the project in August of this year for several smaller infractions, Macon said.

“The neighbors don’t know what I had to deal with in order to not leave them with an unfinished development when most people would have walked away,” she said.

In fact, there are other developments in East Mt. Airy where the developer has done just that, said Vernon Price, a legislative assistant to Councilwoman Donna Reed Miller.

On Pelham Road, just off Germantown Avenue, and at the Presser-Nugent homes on Johnson Street in Germantown, two parcels of land have been waiting for town homes the neighbors were promised, and both remain barren.

“Apparently Macon is committed to getting it done and getting it done right,” Muroff said.