East Side development resident sues over failure of the project

YOUNGSTOWN -- A Beachwood Village resident has filed a taxpayer lawsuit over the upscale housing project's failure.
William Triplett of Beachwood Drive is suing the estate of the original developer, now deceased, who had a contract with the city and was given incentives in 1994 to build 109 homes on 44 acres near McKelvey Lake on the city's East Side.
The developer, the late Walter Burks, pulled out several years later. Just nine homes have been built to date.
Lawsuit arguments
Triplett argues the contract should be fulfilled and that the homes weren't properly built.
Triplett is seeking three things:
UAn order directing completion of the remaining homes.
UCompensatory damages of $680,000, the amount of federal money the city used to build Beachwood streets, sidewalks, sewer and water pipes.
UDamages of $2.04 million for devalued property, loss of property tax revenue and other unspecified damages.
A representative of Burks' estate could not be reached to comment Wednesday.