Half-built Princeton home is uninhabitable

Under construction since 1999, stop-work orders have been issued and a lawsuit is pending.

By: David Campbell
   The expensive new colonial home that stands half-built at 502 Cherry Valley Road near The Great Road would prove a challenge even for Steve and Norm on "This Old House."
   The residence has been under construction since around 1999, and with stop-work orders in place and a lawsuit pending, it won’t be habitable any time soon.
   A township official described the lingering project as a headache that won’t go away, but said the problems aren’t so irreversible that they can’t be fixed.
   But for the time being, house beautiful it is not.
   Rick Wilson of Roblyn Development Corp. of Pennington, the builder who reportedly has a contract to sell the house to a Princeton restaurateur, was not available for comment on the troubled project this week.
   But according to a township official, the original building permits were issued near the end of 1999, but the state Department of Environmental Protection and the Princeton Health Department halted construction work for violations relating to wetlands and the septic system.
   The property isn’t built on wetlands, but its attached garage extended into the wetland buffer zone. The garage, which was originally built to the back of the house, also was found to have been improperly situated over the residence’s septic system and had to be moved.
   With a stop-work order in place, the incomplete project is in limbo and reportedly suffering from water damage and mold.
   As a result of the delays and damage, the prospective homeowner, whom Princeton officials declined to identify, is suing the builder, the official said.
   Meanwhile, the property owner, technically Mr. Wilson, has run further afoul of the Princeton Health Department over a problem with trash accumulation on the site.
   Princeton Health Officer William Hinshillwood said a case is pending in Municipal Court against the property owner for failure to deal with an overflowing trash container on the property.
   For whatever reason, the health officer said, the trash container garbage is not getting picked up. To make matters worse, people are using the bin as a convenient dumping spot.
   "The project has hit a dead end and nothing’s happening with it lately," Mr. Hinshillwood said.
   According to the township official, the garbage is accumulating because the owner has ceased paying for trash container pickup.