SAUGUS — The Pranker Mills project, which would involve constructing apartments on the historic site, returned to the Planning Board with a new project manager; however, questions remain unanswered, and the project is still at a standstill.
The project was first proposed in 2021 by developer 180 Central Development LLC and Steve Bocelli and his father, Joe Boccelli; however, Joe Boccelli has fallen ill. He is still the owner of the property, but Sleeping Dog Properties has taken over management with Patrick Scully named project manager. Joe Boccelli is the director of construction at Sleeping Dog Properties and is still involved with the project.
“I’m here basically to work to get the answers to the building inspector for the transformer and some of the pervious pavement issues that we’ve had on site,” Scully said.
Planning Board Chair Joe O’Brien asked whether Steve Boccelli is actively on the job while the work is being done, and Scully immediately answered, “Yes.”
O’Brien also wondered why Steve Boccelli wasn’t at the meeting.
“He was here with his father, and he knows all the things we were looking for, and he’s not provided them,” O’Brien said.
He continued that the redline plans were supposed to be done by the engineer and have not been completed.
One of the main issues raised by the Board was the need for a blast wall around the transformer for safety reasons.
“What I was told is that it’s in the right spot, but it was required to be 8 inches thick and so high, and they built it a foot thicker and higher than what was required,” Scully said.
O’Brien then pointed out that the wall in the Saugus River was missing from the print, as were the transformer and the location.
Scully was able to present a new plan that showed the transformer.
Town Engineer Larry Durkin asked for a timeline for when things will be completed and how.
O’Brien mentioned that the Board has had issues with both Steve and Joe Boccelli during the project and with what was going on with the site.
“I’m not shooting arrows at you,” O’Brien said to Scully, as he noted he’s only been on the project for three weeks.
Scully said, “My point is to try and get us past this point we’re at and to get this done right, correct, and in the right process.”
O’Brien told Scully to introduce himself to the building inspector.
“The sooner you do it, the better. He’s the governing body on whether he’s going to shut this project down or not,” he said.
When Scully asked if they were close to that stage, O’Brien said they were very close to that stage.
“There are several boards that you probably need to go talk to,” Durkin said.
