How long will these condos stay vacant?
Even Santa couldn't bring what the developers wanted for Christmas this year -- money to finish up these condos.Another year has passed with no movement on Tuscany Villas, the abandoned condo project on Vineyard and Foothill.
Nearby residents, mainly on Red Hill, fought vigorously against three residential projects on Foothill Boulevard from Vineyard to Grove from 2004 to 2007. All three were approved by the City Council but none have been complete. The Cameo Homes and strawberry patch projects never got off the ground. Tuscany Villas meanwhile has idled in purgatory for nearly two years.
Many residents didn't want the condos to come in but they don't want to see unfinished ones attracting vagrants either. "It seems like the city should do something about it because they approved it," said Red Hill resident Corbet Macy.
But all the city can do is make sure the weeds are cut and hope the market will eventually turn around. Maybe next Christmas?
Photo by Micah Escamilla/Correspondant
The picture from the front doesn't look too bad, however if you go around back and see it from up on the side of the hill it looks like a war zone. The roofing is not finished,all the doors are missing,some windows are broken,others are left open,and building materials are scattered everywhere. The place is being used by vagrants to sleep in,and teens for parties. It has set empty for so long it would cost more to finish than to tear it down. It is a public nuisance and should be removed or at least post security at that location at night.
Another example of how housing projects have fallen victim to the financial crisis. If the contractor went out of business it's likely these will turn into shelters for squatters.
These type of unfinished projects should really be torn down. Do these properties still belong to the developers or do they now belong to the city? Whoever these properties belong to should tear them down.
If they've been sitting empty and rotting for the last 2 years, I don't think it's worth it to try saving and spending even more $$$$ to do so.
Perhaps a stick of dynamite under the feet of the knuckle-dragging ROC-hard city council might help move this pile of crap into its final stage!
How many police, firefighters, squatters, vagrants and anyone else who wants this mess to go away does it take [to finally make it go away?!?].