Berkeley Heights Township : Township Declares Developer In Default Of Municipal Complex Project

Press release from the Berkeley Heights Township:

February 11, 2022

MUNICIPAL COMPLEX UPDATE: 

TOWNSHIP DECLARES EPIC IN DEFAULT FOR FAILURE TO PERFORM

FEBRUARY 9, 2022

The Berkeley Heights Mayor and Township Council have issued a Notice of Default to Epic Management Inc. and Epic's performance bond company, Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America, effectively ending Epic's involvement in the Municipal Complex Redevelopment Project.  The Township is taking this action because, among other reasons, it believes Epic has failed to complete its obligations under its agreement with the Township in a timely manner.  The Township believes that Epic should have made more progress than it has to date on the "punch list" items identified by the Township's Architect, Electrical Engineer and Landscape Engineer.

Epic is now required to complete these punch list items in the next 30 days.  If it fails to do so, subject to certain extensions, Epic's performance bond company, Travelers Casualty and , will be obligated to ensure that the work is completed or that the Township is paid to have the work completed.

See the article on the Township issuing the Notice of Default to Epic in TAPinto Berkeley Heights here

Although our employees officially moved into the building in December 2020, the work inside and outside has been ongoing.  This is not uncommon.  There are 3 punch lists, one prepared by each of Arcari + Iovino dated December 15, 2020, KSI Consulting Engineers, LLC dated June 4, 2021 and Harbor Consultants Inc. dated October 27, 2021, that detail the work to be completed after the Township moved into the building, but before the project is truly complete. These punch lists include dozens of unaddressed items - several critical ones - including:

• Multiple roof leaks throughout the building (to date, Epic has not been able to ascertain if it is just the roof, the masonry, or a combination of both).
• Automatic door operator at the main building entrance.
• Install ladder cage and safety post on roof ladder.
• Install security cameras in parking lot. 
• Fix damaged light fixtures.
• Install the wayfinding and the LED signage to be installed near the intersection of Park and Plainfield Avenues.
• Fix the ADA sidewalk sloping and landing areas.
• Fix Uneven flooring in several areas. 

Despite consistent communication from the Township to Epic with respect to the items on the punch lists, and now more than 13 months since the Arcari + Iovino punch list was first issued, Epic has not performed the remaining punch list work.  In many instances, the Township staff injected itself into the construction management process to get work completed, including but not limited to:

• Working with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) to determine the proper safe process for taking down the old asbestos-laden building.
• Hiring a qualified asbestos remediation company to do the work Epic’s subcontractor would not complete without charging the Township significantly more money and taking more time than necessary (the Township’s hired professional took less than two weeks to do the job, to NJDEP’s satisfaction).
• Ensuring the swale drainage improvements were made.
• Hiring an outside elevator waterproofer to ensure the elevator was watertight after months of water seeping into the pit, in order to get the elevator approved by the State.

In the summer of 2020, the Township developed concerns with Epic’s performance relating to  what came to be called "Phase 2" of the project.  Phase 2 consisted largely of demolition of the old municipal building and construction of the parking lots.  Recognizing the need to complete the project without  further delaying the Township's ability to fully occupy and utilize the new building, the Township amended its agreement with Epic to, among other things: 

Fast forward to today: The Township contends that neither Phase 1 nor Phase 2 were completed by their required completion dates.  In addition, the Township believes that there has not been enough meaningful progress on any of the 3 punch lists, including on mission critical items required for the public health, safety and welfare, all as identified by our architect and project managers (Mast). 

Click here to read more about what the Redevelopment Agreement did to put the Township in a better position today, and other background of the Municipal Complex project. 

NEXT STEPS

The Township will engage with Epic's performance bond company, Travelers, to cause Travelers to perform under the performance bond.  This will likely include (i) Travelers undertaking to complete the punch list work, (ii) Travelers hiring a contractor to complete the punch list work or (iii) Travelers paying the Township an amount sufficient to complete the punch list work.  In any event, the Township will make sure that the work is completed by a reputable provider, whether selected by Travelers or the Township to complete the work.   We need to get this done; our residents deserve nothing less. 

This press release was produced by the Berkeley Heights Township. The views expressed here are the author’s own.