New contractor hired for South Fork home restoration in Ewing

EWING Residents of the townships South Fork neighborhood, which was devastated by a gas explosion in March, found out Thursday that an Iowa company will take the lead on the rebuilding process for their damaged homes.

Representatives from GC3, a disaster restoration company based in West Des Moines, arrived this week to begin managing the project, the South Fork Homeowners Association Board said in an e-mail sent to residents, a copy of which was obtained by The Times.

Many residents have now been out of their homes for more than four months, while others live in battered houses with boarded up windows. The restoration project involves nearly all of the 130 homes in the development, which suffered damage varying from nail pops to complete destruction.

The board approved the decision to go with GC3 on July 9 and announced as much to the homeowners, but did not immediately disclose the name of the company.

Since that time they have begun to review our engineering reports and insurance estimates, the email said. We expect to see a trailer on site next week.

The contractor will manage the job on site, not remotely, the email said.

They will be using local contractors for the work. For example, its possible that Scozzari could be a major contributor, the email said.

Scozzari, a Pennington firm, was introduced to homeowners June 30 as the new contractor after Cornerstone Appraisal & Restoration Services of Princeton, the original contractor, was fired in early June. The deal to bring on Scozzari fell through, however, and the board told residents that it would follow a different path.

The board said in the e-mail that as soon as GC3 can get settled and digest the information provided a meeting will be scheduled to introduce them to the homeowners. GC3 will discuss their procedures and their plans for interacting with homeowners at the meeting, the email said.

As part of the process, GC3 will work on establishing a timeline for work on each unit, the email said.

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New contractor hired for South Fork home restoration in Ewing