Crevasse Impasse: Family, Developers At Odds Over Wall Collapse

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — An elderly Highland Park couple want compensation from a developer they blame for forcing them of their home when a foundation wall collapsed at a neighboring construction site. The developer and city officials both say they are working diligently to return the Mordinis to the home they have lived in for 40 years, which was deemed uninhabitable three weeks ago when the ground underneath sank during a rainstorm.

Jim and Ana Mordini live next door to the site of Fulton Developers' Laurel Residences condominium project, currently being built at 815 Laurel Avenue. After heavy rain on Oct. 14, a foundation wall failed during construction of the site's underground parking garage just five feet from their house.

The sidewalk buckled as the yard sank, and now the Mordinis' home looks as if it's been struck by an earthquake.

Their son, Peter, said both his parents, 60-year Highland Park residents, tripped on a newly-opened fissure that night. He said his father fell into it in full view of a police officer who'd arrived after they called 911.

City Manager Ghida Neukirch said Highland Park city staff acted quickly to assess the Mordinis' property and determined it was unsafe for them to stay.

"For the safety of those residents, they were asked to vacate the premises until further notice," Neukirch said. "Since then, we have been working, truly, on a daily basis with the Mordini family as well as the developers and coordinating with our staff to try to get the Mordinis back in their home as soon as possible."

City staff have offered to mediate discussions between the developers and homeowners, hosting one meeting at City Hall on Oct. 30, she said.

The Mordinis are asking the developers to cover their rent, their lost income from their displaced renter, utilities and fees, according to their son.

"And, of course, he wants the developer to fix his land that he destroyed. That's it," Mordini said his 78-year-old father had no intention of suing over the issue. "He's not asking for compensation for pain and suffering, which he has because he hasn't slept for three weeks in his own bed because he's worrying so much."

Mayor Nancy Rotering said Neukirch is keeping her and the council informed of developments on the matter.

"The City’s staff acted swiftly to address this unexpected safety issue through a coordinated effort involving Community Development, Police and Public Works personnel, as well as the developer, their contractors, and the neighboring property owner," Rotering said.

"[Our] first priority is to protect the safety of the family and there is a collective effort to get them safely back into their home as soon as possible." Rotering said "threatened litigation" prevented any further comments.

Neukirch said the lawsuit threat came from the Mordinis, and the city remains committed to expediting their safe return home.

"We're sensitive to their frustration and so our primary goal is to get them to move into their home as fast as possible," Neukirch said. "Right now we just need them to select a contractor so they can do that assessment on the property."

According to a statement from Fulton Developers President Mark Muller, the company has offered to cover the cost of an engineer to suggest repairs to the Mordinis' property.

"Over two weeks ago we offered to hire and retained a geotechnical engineer to provide a recommendation for repairing the yard and sidewalk, but in order to do that, the engineer would need to access the property," Muller's statement said. "Unfortunately, the Mordinis have not agreed to grant access to the property so an engineer may determine what needs to be done."

"Why would you let a guy who does shoddy construction on your property, you know, to do more construction?" asked Mordini. "It's proven that he doesn't know what he's doing, so we want to hire our own people."

"We are concerned about this situation and want nothing else than for the Mordinis to be able to move back into their home," said the Fulton Developers statement.

The developers have provided an engineering report "confirming that the wall between the construction site and the Mordinis' property is in stable condition, and therefore, restoration of the Mordinis' yard and sidewalk could begin," according to the statement.

"They did everything wrong," said son Peter, who claims the developers didn't have proper supports at the site. "And the city inspectors didn't come by to look. Why do we pay the inspectors if they don't come to look at these major projects being done?"

Although the developer blamed heavy rainfall for the October foundation wall collapse, Mordini said there had already been previous signs of trouble at the site.

"He's been abusing my father since day one, an elderly man, and my mom," he said of Muller.

On Aug. 26, he said, a parking spot in front of his parents' house "collapsed into nowhere," and remains unrepaired. He said inspectors arrived arrived and retaining walls were installed only after he called to complain.

Later, he said his 76-year-old mother contacted the construction foreman to warn that the earth was separating from the sidewalk but was told nothing was wrong and not to worry.

The Mordinis, who live on a fixed income and relied on revenue from renting out an upstairs apartment began picketing in downtown Highland Park with a sign reading, "My house is deemed uninhabitable because of the developer's collapsed wall!", and a social media post documenting their struggle was widely shared.

The building under construction is the second part of the Laurel Court II development. Condos are due to be priced between $400,000 and $920,000 at the site.

Mordini said his parents were asked to sign a contract saying Fulton Developers was not at fault for the collapse in order to have their housing accommodations paid for. He said they refused and, after consulting with Muller's partner, Rodulfo Margoniner in Uruguay, they so far have only been provided with about one week's worth of rent.

Muller's statement said insurance claims are being coordinated with his insurance company as well as the subcontractor who was performing the work. It noted he is a Highland Park resident and "active volunteer who cares about the community and wants to rectify the matter as soon as possible."

Muller was also a member of the Highland Park Zoning Board of Appeals until last week, when Mayor Rotering spoke to Mark and indicated it would be best if he no longer serve in that capacity, according to Neukirch.

"In light of the amount of projects he has being considered before the City, it was determined he would no longer be serving on the ZBA," although there has been no direct conflict of interest since his projects were approved by Highland Park's Plan and Design Commission and City Council.

_{Photos courtesy Mordini family}