Rapid Network

Outside Phoenix Arizona, along Ironwood Road on the far east side of the county, there are planned communities left abandoned, the few residents in a state of limbo. A block designed for 24 homes has eight completed, four occupied, and three more left in a partial state of construction. The developer has gone out of business, and with no human intervention since 2008, nature is reclaiming the remaining space. The infrastructure of the neighborhood was built first, so the street signs, lights, roads and sidewalks are still waiting for the other 200+ homes to arrive. The desert flora that was plowed away four years ago is slowly coming back. Driving on new streets through the blowing dust and empty space to reach the small cluster of finished homes feels apocalyptic.

Throughout the country, areas of rapid growth saw a rise in the number of planned subdivisions, communities usually on the far edge of town offering large, spacious houses to buyers willing to trade commute time for a luxury home. During the housing boom, eager buyers jumped at the chance to move into a subdivision still under construction, never imagining that progress could stop literally overnight.

Residents now face the compounded problem of not only being underwater in their home loan - but in many cases, these neighborhoods are in a legally paralyzed. With developers out of business and often in bankruptcy, it will take much more than new home buyers to bring the construction back. Ownership and building rights can be mired in litigation for years, and with no promise of finishing the projects, the existing homes are unmarketable.

The future is not entirely bleak, however. Recently in San Antonio Texas, a senior residential complex was purchased by Kisco Senior Living for a fraction of it's construction cost from the bankrupt developer. Home builders that weathered the economic storm like Toll Brothers and Shea, are moving to buy foreclosed housing projects, finding the price low enough to outweigh the legal obstacles and expired government permits left behind - and the legal system is cooperating. The overwhelming need to keep these unfinished neighborhoods from succumbing to blight is proving to be a strong force in finding a legal and business resolution.

One final solution is being exercised in Florida, returning the development to their natural state. The Trust for Public Land is assisting the local government of St. Petersburg in their attempt to "un-develop" an abandoned project to build luxury condos and mansion-style single family homes. The few properties that were completed would be purchased, torn down, and replaced with native plants.