New Mirasol Development Leader Has Hands Full
The first man on the job quit after two months, and three potential replacements said thanks but no thanks. Only a former major homebuilder was willing to take on the task of saving Mirasol homes. What sounds and looks like an average neighborhood is part of a long-running customer service nightmare. Pulte Homes former division president Bart Swider will now try to undo years of shoddy construction by another builder, and to make matters even more difficult, mold contamination was found at other Mirasol projects.

New Mirasol Development Leader Has Hands Full
Task Force Members Say They're Unsure Of New HireTask Force Members Say They're Unsure Of New Hire

October 25, 2007
Video: Group Having A Hard Time Agreeing On Person To Lead Mirasol Project

SAN ANTONIO -- The first man on the job quit after two months, and three potential replacements said thanks but no thanks.

Only a former major homebuilder was willing to take on the task of saving Mirasol homes.

What sounds and looks like an average neighborhood is part of a long-running customer service nightmare.

Probably not in San Antonio, but probably in the state or the nation -- this is a complicated case," Mirasol Task Force Chairman Gordon Hartman said.

Pulte Homes former division president Bart Swider will now try to undo years of shoddy construction by another builder, and to make matters even more difficult, mold contamination was found at other Mirasol projects.

"The timing and coordination and the effort that has to go into it -- it's a monumental task," Swider said.

But some Mirasol residents said they want to know if Swider is worth $20,000 a month.
"It's a lot of money, there's no question, but the expectations that we're asking him to take on, or that we have set for him, are very, very high," Hartman said.

Some residents said they already don't think he'll be worth it.

"Well, I can't judge the man because he hasn't done anything yet, but just by the way things happened, how I think it was already fixed, I don't think so," task force member Estefana Adame Battle said.

Battle and another task force member, Randy Zaragoza, said they were among three votes against Swider's selection because of Swider's friendship with Hartman.

They said the problems Mirasol is experiencing will require more than just management skills.

"I have over 35 years of construction skills myself. I know the trade, so, to begin with, he's going to have his hands full trying to convince me," Zaragoza said.
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