On Highway 380 in Princeton, a luxury apartment project is underway. It's something neighbor Marylou Pettis hoped would beautify the area and improve property values.
“It’s been a very long time,” Marylou Pettis said. “Sometimes they do work and sometimes they stop the work. It’s just ongoing.”
Just how long? The City of Princeton said the project was approved in 2017 and started construction in 2021 but all construction activities stopped in 2023 after a city inspection.
A member of the property ownership group told NBC 5 that work stopped because a contractor walked off the site after lending issues in May 2023.
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“It’s just sitting there deteriorating,” Pettis said. “It’s an eyesore.”
And potentially dangerous according to the city.
In an online statement the city said in part the unfinished structures threaten the public health, safety, and welfare of the community.
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Also, because it's exposed to the elements there is the potential evolution of mold and other pathogens.
These are some of the same worries Pettis had.
“My main concern is all the rodents and critters and mold and the people that live in it later,” Pettis said.
The city gave the ownership until June 16th to either bring the property under total compliance, remove it or demolish it.
The owners did recently replace weatherproof sheeting on some of the buildings.
There was also a mold inspection done and some elevated areas of concern were found. A remediation plan was given to the city. The city says they want a third-party engineer to look at that plan to see if it’ll work because of the considerable concerns over health and safety.
The owners say they are now working with a new lender to refinance and restart the project.
Neighbors said they aren't so sure it will ever happen.
“At this point, I don’t know that it will be completed if they do get a new contractor because it’s happened before,” Pettis said.
The owners said once construction starts again the project could be complete in nine months.
City officials say no permit applications have been submitted as of Friday.
To learn read more about the project from the city of Princeton click here.
