The city of Portland on Friday lifted a stop work order that halted the construction of a $14 million condominium project in the India Street neighborhood.

The order was issued on April 13 after neighboring property owners reported damage to their foundations and homes that was caused by the construction.

The city allowed work to resume after two engineering reports – one from S.W. Cole Engineering and another by Haley & Aldrich – were reviewed by an engineering outside firm, Stantec.

The outside review led the city to conclude that construction at 101-121 Newbury St. could resume, as long as developers complied with four recommendations listed in the Haley & Aldrich report, including design revisions and other corrective actions, according to Jonathan Rioux, the city’s deputy director of inspections.

“Construction activity may only continue if it is done in accord with that report and all other applicable regulations,” Rioux said in an Aug. 7 letter to the developer, 113 Newbury Street.

The city has allowed the developer to do utility work in the streets while they reviewed the engineering reports.

Joe Dasco of 113 Newbury Street said crews were eager to get back to work.

“We’re anticipating getting back to work right away,” said Dasco, who expects the complex will be finished by next spring. He said 30 percent of the units are already under contract. “We strongly believe in the neighborhood and this project is going to be a great addition.”

113 Newbury Street – formerly known as Seaport Lofts – is the second phase of the Bay House condominium project, an 86-unit condominium project at the corner of Hancock and Newbury that was completed in 2013. As approved, 113 Newbury Street will consist of 39 condo, including seven townhouses.

Residents on Hancock Street and in the Federal Street Townhouses – both of which are located uphill from the development – reported damage to their properties in April, after construction crews removed large sheets of metal that were placed in the ground to facilitate the construction of a retaining wall.

Liz Chase, the owner of a multi-unit building on Hancock Street, said it felt like an earthquake when the metal sheets were lifted, and the ground shifted. Jerry Phair, a resident in that building, said items fell off the shelf, and doors and windows no longer closed properly. The foundation of that building also had a large crack, which Chase and her partner, Brent Adler, attributed to the incident.

Hugh Nazor, president of the India Street Neighborhood Association, said four townhouses there were damaged, as well as two houses on the corner of Federal and Hancock streets.

The engineering report attributed the damage to neighboring properties to construction activities, primarily to vibrations associated with the removal of the large metal sheets, rather than a general instability of ground. The report recommends that further excavation near the retaining wall be done slowly, with frequent monitoring of the conditions.

Adler, however, was disappointed in the response of the city. Affected residents brought the damage to the city’s attention, but there appears to be little the city is able or willing to do to help them fix their properties, he said.

“There hasn’t been any resolution at all,” he said. “There was absolutely no report (from the developer) letting the city know how they’re going to handle the damage they caused.”

Dasco said he is confident the incident was a one-time event and the surrounding properties are safe.

“I don’t think there is any danger,” he said. “I don’t think there was any danger prior to.”

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