Milton community finally has paved streets

More than a decade after Cannery Village made its mark on Milton, residents are now able to enjoy fully paved streets.

It may seem a small accomplishment, but residents and town officials have been working for years to get the neighborhood's developer, Chestnut Properties, to complete work on more than 300 punch list items, including paving streets, fixing curbs and sidewalks, and making sure walkways are ADA compliant.

“I'm happy it's happening under my tenure, but it had a lot to do with every other mayor going back 15 years,” Milton Mayor Ted Kanakos said. “It's a continuing effort of a lot of people, and also the willingness of the developer to do it.”

The shiny, new blacktop is a good sign for many, but a final review of the work still needs to be done, Kanakos said.

Kanakos said a representative from the town's engineering firm Pennoni Associates, Milton Public Works Director Greg Wingo and a representative from Chestnut Properties will conduct a full walk-through of the development Tuesday, July 19, to ensure all punch list items have been completed.

After the walk-through, Pennoni will present a full report to Kanakos and Milton Town Council members, letting town officials know whether the developer still has more items to complete or the punch list has been satisfied. If all of the work has been completed, and mayor and council are satisfied with the engineer's report, town officials may move forward with an official dedication of the streets.

“We will not accept the streets until all of that work, more than 300 items on the punch list, have been addressed and solved,” Kanakos said. “We're looking forward to getting this over with.”

Kanakos said he expects no hurdles in the coming weeks, and that Cannery Village's streets will be dedicated to the town by the end of the summer. An official dedication makes the Town of Milton responsible for street maintenance, including street lights and snow removal; lanes within Cannery Village will not be dedicated to the town and will eventually become the responsibility of the neighborhood's homeowner's association, said HOA board member and town Councilman Michael Coté.

“It's been a while coming, but it's done,” Coté said. “The dedication is the ultimate finalization that the developer is waiting for and we're waiting for it as well.”

The originally planned 500-plus residence development was not required to get a performance bond when development began more than a decade ago, making it difficult for town officials to force developers to complete work, such as paving streets. About 180 homes have been completed so far, Coté said.

Kanakos said the issues with Cannery Village have been a learning experience for town officials, and that developers are now held to extremely high standards. “When this was started, there was no performance bond required. We did not have a town manager to tell us these things were necessary,” he said. “But go through Heritage Creek – it's a delicious development. The streets, the paving, the clubhouse, the landscaping. This is how you grow and learn.”

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story misstated that Mayor Ted Kanakos lives in Cannery Village. He lives on Broad Street.