SKYE Condominiums and Hyatt Place Hotel

[Guest]

I will take a picture in 10 days and compare.

It'll definately be done in 10 days....

[jms54]

It'll definately be done in 10 days....

If there is news on May 1st and the construction has essentially stopped, my bet is that the project has been sold.

[nowensone]

^ That would be a good thing, I'd also be happy with a foreclosure - it would seem that a bank would be keen to finish it at this stage and get it on the market to recoup their investment.

[Charlotte_native]

I always watch this buiding with interest. When it was announced I reserved a unit but wasn't completely happy with the layout and balcony so I dropped my reservation before going to contract. Later, 230 South Tryon was announced and we signed up for one of thier units. It was delayed and delivered to us about 8 months late, a total of 2.5 years or so after we had gone to contract. I now pass The Park many days on my way to work -- we've been in our place for a year now and The Park is still sitting still. Slow isn't even a word that could be used here. If they had held my deposit for this long I'd be livid. I'd estimate, even with great organization to the point of Catalyst quality, it is still a good 8 months from move-in. That's being optimistic.

I agree with posts above, let someone else grab this and get it done. I like the project and can't wait to see it done, but it is obviously out of the scope of what this team can get done or get done with any efficiency.

[MZT]

I get off the train at 3rd street station and look at this building every day. Although workers occasionally go inside and the elevators move, I have not seen any interior walls added or window framing hung in weeks.

[New Name]

It may be at a standstill, but I do like the way it fills in certain gaps in the city:

[dxartist]

Will they ever start cladding this thing? It'll be winter before they even do so.

[AuLukey]

Taken today:

Once finished, The Park and the NASCAR tower will compliment each other's height pretty well.

[Figursky]

I drive by the Park every day and don't really notice any movement on the project, however there are always cars parked in the deck?? Any idea if anything is really going on?

[Spartan]

There's nothing going on. Its on hold.

[cltheel.sdl]

Both the Park and the Smith Curry condo building (especially Smith Curry) are literally making me sick. Every time I see them there has been absolutely no progress. I haven't even been uptown since December and there has been little to no progress. Meh.

[HopHead]

Well, looks like we have a little more info on why the Park hasn't been progressing. Apparently the developer Verna and Associates hasn't been paying contractors who've been working on the building. So in essence they've decided to stop work themselves. The contractors are looking to take legal action. It's unclear when the building could be finished. So we might have to get used to seeing a 70% complete tower for a litle while longer.

[rockhilljames]

Ouch.

I speculated yesterday that we might see the building finished up under different ownership. I really admire Verna, so I hope he can see this through.

[dubone]

Although, isn't the best way to get paid to simply finish the project and close on those units? I still can't believe that the credit crisis is so severe that they can't find money to complete a 70% built condo project.

[poochy]

They must have been over budget and failed to tell anyone. The bank figured it out and stopped the draws. No draws=no money=lawsuits. Credit crisis or the economy wouldn't have anything to do with it.

[init5]

" I still can't believe that the credit crisis is so severe that they can't find money to complete a 70% built condo project."

The credit crunch happened this year, the Park is much older than that.

[MZT]

When a building sits unfinished for long, it commonly ends up being sold for a DEEP discount to a new buyer. The new owner has to take on the liability of workmanship damaged by the weather, and the contractors build in additional safety margins into their bids too, in order to cover their risks and warrantees.

It's too bad they could not at least gotten the thing cladded by now, that could have helped stabilize the situation.

[Raintree21]

The CBJ has confirmed the rumors about Verna & Associates Inc. running out of money and not being able to pay their contractors. Several lawsuits have been filed in Mecklenburg Superior Court as early as February demanding payment.

[Andyc545]

So I guess the question is what next? Will the sell the property off, then we can watch it be finished that way, or will there be an investment in the company to get this property back on track, or do we think this will be sitting abandoned through the summer and longer?

[rockhilljames]

Well, if it goes into the courts and there's a lien on the property, we'll see a whole bunch of nothing for a while. It doesn't help anyone to do this, since a project sitting half finished will never make anyone any money. Most likely another development company will come in a buy the project for pennies on the dollar, pay the outstanding debt and finish it up.

[MZT]

Wow. How long have people had deposits on The Park? I could easily see this taking months to clear up, even in a good economy. Forget about seeing this building ready before 2009.

[swh1972]

^ Not before 2009, or not by 2009? I don't know, it seems like the difficult part is behind them...my guess is that everything is ready to go, they just need someone with $ to step in. Depending on how much of a financial mess the project is in, could be a while, though.

[Appetite for Construction]

My thought for years has been that Verna could not pull this off by himself and that bringing in another developer to the team would be the only way The Park gets built. Since pulling in Allegiance Development hasn't been the answer, I don't see this building getting completed until yet another party gets involved. I'm not sure the date of the latest round of contracts on this building, but if it sits too long, the two year expiration date for real estate contracts will hit them and I can't see people lining up to sign new contracts.

[poochy]

I wonder how much Verna is involved with this anymore considering he retired in October. In fact, since his retirement, the project seemed to come to a stop. The CBJ had quoted Dave Frailey as the President of Verna & Associates and Sonoma Carolina has advertised as one of the main partners in the project. I wonder how much impact their association with the project has had since Verna's retirement or if this was essentially Verna's doing. Somebody screwed up. The question is who and how?

[Miesian Corners]

So where is NVQ now? I would certainly like to hear how he would spin this new tidbit about The Park.