Date: Fri 07-Feb-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: LIBRAR

Quick Words:

business-Hawley-Inn

Full Text:

Renovation Work Stalls At The New Hawley Inn

BY KAAREN VALENTA

The developers who are renovating the former Hawley Manor Inn said they are

interviewing contractors to replace Kenosha Construction Company of Danbury,

which stopped work on the project several weeks ago.

"Kenosha has abandoned the job - that's the only word for it," said Phil

Manger of Taunton Lake Road who, with Richard Mullen of Great Quarter Road, is

a principal in Hawley Inn, LLC, which intends to reopen the facility as the

Mary Hawley Inn.

Mr Manger said Kenosha originally was due to finish the job by December 15,

1996.

"But they got further and further behind," Mr Manger said. "In early January

they took all their tools off the job and didn't show up again."

Tary Tarlton, vice president of Kenosha Construction, agreed all work by his

firm stopped weeks ago.

"[The developers] ran out of money. We haven't been paid since November," he

said. "Obviously we're not performing - because we haven't been paid."

Mr Tarlton said the entire matter is now in civil court.

Mr Manger said a performance bond had been posted by the construction company

when the contract was awarded.

"The job was bonded for the full amount, about a half million dollars," he

said. "We now have to go through the bonding company, which makes a decision

on who will finish the job. But we can speed it up by getting bids from other

contractors."

Mr Manger, who was an attorney before he became a developer, said he did not

want to discuss the problem with the contractor in detail because of potential

litigation. But he said the abandonment of the project was unfortunate for

everyone involved.

"We thought this would be a great job for a small company [like Kenosha]

because of all the traffic going by everyday," he said. "It was a good chance

for Kenosha to make a hell of a name for themselves. But it didn't work out

that way."

Hawley Inn, LLC, bought the Hawley Manor Inn at 19 Main Street on August 29,

1996, for $475,000 from Lowell Hodgkiss Associates, which took back a $425,000

mortgage. Construction financing was provided by Nutmeg Federal Savings &

Loan.

Mr Manger said he is confident the job will eventually be completed.

"We are hoping to resume within a week or two," he said. "We are interviewing

other contractors and are now looking at an April/May opening."