What's Happening on Fairview Avenue

In the summer of 2014, a proposal to construct a four-unit apartment building at the corner of Fairview Avenue and Bayley Boulevard went before the Zoning Board of Appeals for an area variance and the Planning Board for site plan approval. The project got its variances and approvals, with no one speaking against it at either board's public hearing. Although there was some concern the proposed building was too large for its location, there was also appreciation for the attempts to make it architecturally compatible by including such Arts & Crafts details as six over one windows.

Two years later, the neighbors are not as sanguine about the project as they once were. A great hole was dug, and a concrete block foundation was built, but that's where things stopped. For a year, people living on Bayley Boulevard and Jenkins Parkway have had to pass an unattractive construction site to enter their neighborhood.

Gossips spoke yesterday with code enforcement officer Craig Haigh about the project. Haigh explained that a family tragedy and other setbacks had prevented the owner/builder from proceeding with the project in a timely fashion. Building permits are only effective for one year, but because of the circumstances, Haigh had granted a six-month extension on the building permit for this project. The six months will be over in a few weeks. According to Haigh, the owner/builder is now ready to resume construction, but before he would allow them to continue, Haigh requested an engineer's report on the foundation, which has been exposed to the elements for a full year and last winter had to be pumped out because it had filled with water. After Haigh has reviewed the engineer's report and any repairs required for the foundation have been made, the construction can proceed. Haigh noted that unless the building can be completed within a few weeks, which seems unlikely, the owner/builder will have to apply for a new building permit. 
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