Work halted at Lowell apartments

LOWELL — The state Department of Industrial Accidents has issued a “Stop Work Order” to the roofing contractor working at the Westminster Village complex on Pawtucket Boulevard, a state official told The Sun yesterday morning.

An investigator from the Department of Industrial Accidents issued the order to Upstate Roofing and Siding of Monroe, N.Y., on Wednesday after determining the company did not have a valid workers’ compensation policy, said Greg Freed, a spokesman for the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.

There was no appeal of the order and the company has ceased operation at 1349 Pawtucket Blvd., said Freed. The state’s investigation is ongoing, said Freed, saying in a statement he could not provide further information.

The news of the “Stop Work Order” came one day after the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued an “Imminent Danger” notice to the contractor because employees at Westminster were “exposed to numerous fall hazards while working on roofs and scaffolds.”

Contractors at Westminster Village, a 432-unit development spanning many properties on the 1300s block on Pawtucket Boulevard, are doing interior and exterior work. The development has 400 Section 8 units.

Related Affordable, owner of the development, is spending $7.5 million on the capital renovations.

A spokeswoman for Related Affordable did not respond to a request for comment yesterday.

The U.S. Department of

Housing and Urban Development provides the funding to help pay for Section 8 tenants, who are low-income, elderly and disabled, to live in privately owned facilities.

The Westminster Village development also is a major recipient of state support. MassHousing closed on a $45 million loan in September to fund the acquisition and preservation of Westminster Village.

As part of the financing, The Related Companies secured a 20-year renewal and extension of the Section 8 housing-assistance contract, which was set to expire next year.

A spokesman for MassHousing said the lender expects its borrowers to do business with contractors “who have a high regard for the safety of workers and residents” and who comply with state and federal law.

“Although this property is privately owned and managed, we have expressed to the owner of Westminster Village that we are dissatisfied with the lack of attention to detail on the project to date,” said spokesman Tom Farmer.

“We have their assurances that they will correct the current violations and exercise better oversight going forward.”

The problems identified at Westminster Village this week are not the first violations identified by a public agency during the renovations.

Earlier this month, Lowell inspection officials ordered contractors at Westminster to partially open up the walls in approximately 100 units because the walls were closed before rough electrical inspections.

The city’s electrical inspector did not approve of the stapling Cosgrove Electric used in the wiring and asked the contractors to insert insulated stapling instead.