Residents press builder on construction issues

Homeowners in the Renaissance at Monroe development, off Route 33, have banded together to protest what they say are poor responses by the builder to problems in the senior citizen community.

The residents have formed the Irate Residents of Renaissance Action Committee (IRRAC), claiming that PulteGroup Inc. has failed to respond to a punch list of items that need to be corrected, said Richard Quane, one of IRRAC’s organizers.

“Time is running out,” Quane said on Monday. “The problems have been discussed for years. This has gone on and on.”

Group members are upset over what they call “generally inadequate and substandard construction” in the clubhouse and recreational amenities. This, they said, includes an undersized ballroom, leaking roof, a nonfunctioning humidifier in the swimming pool area, an unusable putting green, substandard bocce court and a malfunctioning sprinkler system.

IRRAC plans to hold off on picketing any PulteGroup Inc. construction sites, since the development’s board of trustees received a letter from the company recently that seemed to resolve some of the issues, Quane said.

“We decided to hold off until we know what is left on the table,” he said, noting that his group planned to meet Tuesday night, after this issue had gone to print.

Eric Younan, corporate communications manager with PulteGroup, said the firm is working with the community.

“Centex Homes takes its responsibility to its homeowners seriously. We urge the members of the Irate Residents of Renaissance Action Committee to work with the board of directors of Renaissance’s homeowners’ association with whom we are engaged and working with to address concerns,” Younan said.

Centex was the community’s original developer, but PulteGroup acquired the company when the two firms merged in August 2009.

“When you take on another company, you take the good with the bad,” Quane said.

Up until the summer the trustees were still negotiating with Centex, he said.

“They are now directly negotiating with Pulte,” Quane said. “We are going to direct our efforts towards Pulte. Unless people are aware of the problem, Pulte has no incentive to settle.”

The development’s bylaws state that the board of trustees and Homeowners’ Association can’t do anything that would interfere with a developer’s building or selling of homes.

“However, we [residents who are not on the board] are not bound by that,” Quane said. “It’s up to us.”

Renaissance is almost built out, but there are still some homes under construction, he said.

“Once they are out of here, we have no leverage,” Quane said.

The development’s ballroom does not meet the 4,200-square-foot minimum required, so residents often have to use other places for functions, he said.

“They can’t all fit in the ballroom,” Quane said.

The humidity in the enclosed pool area is so high that it “starts to rain in there,” he said. The bocce court is not built to specifications and has poor drainage. The putting green is “totally unusable” because it has indoor-outdoor carpet with seams in it.

“Saying they are going to take care of it and taking care of it are two different things,” Quane said.