Records for the Edgartown Lofts commercial building project at the Triangle show a pattern of mistakes and faulty construction since work began this winter, including failure to secure the building during rainstorms, failure to follow building plans, and failure to install required materials designed to meet public health, safety and fire codes.

Owned by Boston developer Charles Hajjar, the building attracted public attention last month when the main Edgartown post office was abruptly closed due to water damage. The April 1 closure caused confusion and angst among some 3,000 postal customers and a hasty scramble among town and postal officials to find a temporary location for central mail delivery. The post office is a tenant on the first floor of the building, which has been closed indefinitely. The Martha’s Vineyard Savings Bank also has a small branch office on the lower floor of the building which has been closed. A construction project is under way on the second story of the building for five apartments.

Following a public outcry after rain began pouring into the building through the second floor, Mr. Hajjar apologized and said immediate steps would be taken to make repairs and get the project back on track. A June 1 date has been set for reopening the post office.

The project and its principals have not been cited for any violations of state or town laws or regulations.

But records filed with the Edgartown building inspector’s office show that problems with the building project were documented beginning in late March by the owner of a Concord design/build firm working for Mr. Hajjar.

Charles Rolando, president and founder of Domus Inc., the firm that designed the project, signed and filed two construction control progress reports with the town on March 22, and again on April 8.

The March report outlined a number of significant construction errors requiring correction, including incorrectly installed sheetrock, improperly cut rafters, no insulation as required to meet fire codes, a stairwell that did not meet building codes and an incorrectly installed subfloor that the builder was ordered to remove and do over. Other parts of the report note the wrong size lumber used for wall studs, incorrectly applied sheetrock screws, and failure to install specified strapping on roof ridges. The strapping is designed to protect the building in a hurricane.

And the problem of the building being exposed to the elements was noted, apparently not for the first time: “Builder again reminded that the entire roof must be covered with bituthane waterproofing,” it said.

Two weeks later, after the post office and bank had been closed, a second construction control report was filed noting that all the errors cited in the first report had not been corrected.

The second report said: “Almost all open areas that were being protected from the rain and snow by the contractor’s tarps had failed. The builder failed to provide all measures necessary to protect the existing structure during construction as per the structural general notes and specification the contract documents.”

The builder in charge of the project is Gene Erez. Mr. Erez does not have a construction supervisor’s license according to the Massachusetts Division of Public Safety, which administers exams and issues licenses. The building permit for Edgartown Lofts lists Donald Morway, who has a current valid construction supervisor’s license. Under state law, there is no requirement for a licensed construction supervisor to be present on the site. On the Edgartown Lofts project, as spelled out in state regulations, a licensed, registered architect or engineer or designee is required to fill that role, because the project exceeds 35,000 cubic feet.

Robert M. Shaw Jr., is the architect of record on the project, responsible for construction control. Although his stamp appears on the building permit, Mr. Rolando’s name appears on the construction control reports. Mr. Shaw is not listed among those present during inspections in March and April.

The Gazette has since learned that Mr. Rolando’s license to practice architecture has been suspended in Massachusetts.

“I have several registered architects who work for me, who worked on the project,” Mr. Rolando said in by phone Thursday. “That’s how we’ve been practicing for a number of years, which is certainly within the laws of the commonwealth of Massachusetts.”

He said he has chosen not to renew his license, in part because of the expense, and in part because it’s easier to retain someone within the state as the architect of record. 

According to Massachusetts records, Mr. Rolando’s “license has had disciplinary action taken,” but does not detail the action. 

“It’s so complicated,” Mr. Rolando said. “I’ve explained it the best I can. The building hasn’t fallen down, no one’s gotten hurt.”

In a telephone interview with the Gazette Thursday, Mr. Hajjar said he was not aware of Mr. Rolando’s suspended license status until recently. He said Mr. Rolando employs a licensed architect, the architect of record for the Edgartown Lofts project. “That’s why he works for somebody else who is the architect,” Mr. Hajjar said. “I believe a lot of architects work under somebody else’s stamp.”

Speaking to the Gazette by telephone this week, Mr. Erez said his own arrangement on the job site is not unusual. “A lot of general contractors do not really need to have a supervisor’s license, as long as he employs a partner that does,” he said. “That’s pretty common.”

Mr. Erez has supervised numerous other building projects on Martha’s Vineyard, though most were much smaller, single-family-home projects.

He said Edgartown Lofts has not been an easy project, and some of the discrepancies noted in the control progress reports were the result of trying to stop leaks.

“Some things were noted such as we didn’t do sheetrock on the walls because we were basically trying to close the building up to the best of our abilities to limit the water intrusion,” he said. “Some of the things that we rectified since, we did for that purpose. We just had too much rain coming in. We were putting plywood on before installing sheetrock, which we knew we needed to, because time wise, it was not feasible. The sheetrock would have gotten wet anyway. The majority of those issues have been addressed.”

Edgartown building inspector Leonard Jason Jr. visited the site at the Triangle numerous times this year. The post office had been closed temporarily twice in March before Mr. Jason finally advised postal officials to close the branch April 1. By that time, the bank branch had already been closed. Water had also leaked into the basement of the building, soaking legal records stored by Ronald H. Rappaport, an Edgartown attorney who serves as town counsel for five of the six Island towns. Mr. Rappaport had rented the basement space for storage.

Mr. Jason said no town bylaw or state regulation gives him the authority to impose fines or otherwise sanction the builder in this case.

“There’s none that I’m aware of,” Mr. Jason said, also noting that the town could be sued in the event that a stop-work order was issued. “I tell them to stop, is the town liable for the damage incurred?” he said.

Meanwhile, Edgartown town administrator Pam Dolby said this week that the post office is on track for the June 1 reopening. Renovation work on the building has involved tearing out most of the walls, ceilings, and floors, which were damaged by water. 

Postal officials inspected the work last week, looking for any mold issues. 

“They found none and gave the construction crew the go ahead to start putting the interior walls back up,” said U.S. post office spokesman Steve Doherty. “There is no timetable set for completion at this time, however all parties are working to get the facility reopened in the shortest time frame possible.”

Mr. Hajjar said he continues to back his contractor and has no plan to make a change. “I believe that would only lead to delays,” he said. “Since the incident, they’ve put a lot of man hours into making things right.”