(Feb. 18, 2016) The 26 families who were approved for homes inside Berlin’s new Cannery Village complex probably will have to wait at least a few more weeks before they can move in.
Jim Tone, a site manager with Harkins Builders Inc., said the company is still working to correct problems with sewer lines, which have not been able to pass testing needed to gain approval from the town.
Berlin Planning Director Dave Engelhart said the lines were not installed correctly and had a “belly,” essentially a segment that has lost its positive slope. When that happens, water flow loses momentum and tends to settle and create a clog.
“I don’t think that’s been resolved yet,” he said. “It’s got to come up to a certain level to be accepted, and they haven’t achieved that. The last testing they did, didn’t pass.”
Engelhart said these types of setbacks do happen with new construction and were not necessarily unusual.
“I remember when we did a WalMart when I was working down in Virginia. It was one thing after another,” he said. “It was the worst monsoon year, and drainage and mud and everything was a problem, and they had stormwater ponds that they just couldn’t make work right. It was frustrating [the builders], but they couldn’t get the inspection signed off.
“Stuff wasn’t working right until they did some remedial action, and that’s what they’re doing here,” Engelhart added. “It’s nothing [the town] is holding up.”
When ground was broken on the site in June, developer Andrew Hanson said he was hoping the first units would be ready by September, with full build possibly done by January.
On Tuesday, Tone said it could be weeks – or more than a month – before the lines are repaired.
“We’re hoping it’s soon,” he said. “We’ve been hoping since December, but the weather hasn’t cooperated.”
Tone said 22 of the 44 homes in the complex should be ready to go as soon as the sewer issues are cleared.