9 Worst Recession Ghost Towns in America

Laurel Cove, TN Laurel Cove, TN

When Lehman Brothers went bankrupt in 2008, they also defaulted on a $121 million construction loan for a 1,120-acre golf course community in Williamson, Tenn. The first nine holes of the golf course were completed, 500 of the 800 lots were sold to builders, and the clubhouse, day spa and fitness center sit half-finished. The builders couldn’t start construction because the water and sewage infrastructure was never completed. The development fell into foreclosure, and on-site realtor, Keith Sefton, says that the property is still looking for an investor.

Woods Landing, NJ Woods Landing, NJ

Midway through construction of an over-55 community in Mays Landing, NJ, 20 miles west of Atlantic City, the developer, Kara Homes, filed for bankruptcy. What they left were empty lots and a broken promise to build a clubhouse, pool and lush landscaping of over 1,700 plants, shrubs and bushes for residents. “It’s an eyesore and a hazard,” says a neighbor. A new developer has recently stepped in to build the remaining homes in community, but in order to cut costs, they’re not planning to repair streets, sidewalks or landscape the community.

Via Press of Atlantic City

Broward County High-Rises, FL Broward County High-Rises, FL

One of the worst-hit real estate markets in the country, Miami is overflowing with empty condo units. For example, the Tao Sawgrass condos, have 26 floors of empty apartments. Property records show that 36 of the 396 units sold, but most of them were to investors. The owner maintains the property, security guards stand at the entrance, and employees shuffle through the lobby, making it look like people live there, but marketing director Carolyn Van Gorder for the company selling Tao’s units told the Broward/Palm Beach New Times that she “could not confirm or deny the presence of residents.”

MSN.com

Rio Vista, CA Rio Vista, CA

Once envisioned as an 855-home suburb with families populating the grid of freshly paved streets and sidewalks, now the only life you’ll see in this desert development are cows and eucalyptus shrubs. Thirteen abandoned model homes lie clustered in the center of the development, and streets like “Serenity Drive” stretch on past empty dirt lots into the barren distance. Construction was halted in November 2008 when developer Shea Homes abandoned the project.

Webecoist.com

Downtown Phoenix, AZ Downtown Phoenix, AZ

Before the housing market crash, an acre in downtown Phoenix was selling for about $90 a square foot. Today, it sells for $9 a square foot. Empty dirt lots checker the area, where developers once dreamed of high-rise condos and office buildings, and many businesses have closed their doors. Residents hope building will happen again once the market recovers, but in the meantime neighborhood organizers push for temporary fixes to the eyesore, like planting sunflowers and projecting movies onto the side of existing buildings.

Google Earth

California City, CA California City, CA

Perhaps an example of what will happen to America’s recession ghost towns, California City is one of the first real estate boom developments to become one. In 1958, a developer sectioned off lots and paved culs-de-sacs for a dream city 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles. But the buyers and families never came. Today, the ghostly grid is used for skydivers and test flights by the nearby air force base and a prison lies to the north.

DigitalGlobe

Victorville, CA Victorville, CA

When a bank couldn’t sell 16 new homes in San Bernardino County, Calif., they decided to bulldoze them instead. Four of the homes were completed and another dozen were under construction, but the bank figured that razing the homes would be cheaper than paying fines to the city. As the brand new homes came tumbling down, nearby residents took video and watched the rubble pile up. Now, a few scraps of the homes remain in the dusty lots.

ABC

Fort Myers Condos, FL Fort Myers Condos, FL

One condo owner is the loneliest number, especially when you’re the last remaining resident in a 32-story tower. Victor Vangelakos paid $430,000 for his downtown Fort Myers condo in 2008, but when the building couldn’t sell the rest of the units, they hashed out deals with the buyers, except for Vangelakos, who says his lenders wouldn’t agree to a swap. He now uses the apartment as a vacation home, but he says it’s eerie at night and birds have built nests in nearby apartments. The lone light in the building pictured here belongs to Vangelakos.

Via News-Press.com

La Cresta Community, FL La Cresta Community, FL

Ninety homeowners bought into the 55-and-over development by successful retirement community developer Del Webb. But in 2009 Webb abandoned the place after a dispute with the company that owned the land, and the development became a spooky retirement ghost town, complete with half-built homes, empty lots and murky pools.

CLARIFICATION Sept. 29, 2011: According to a Del Webb spokesperson, Valerie Dolenga, La Cresta changed its name to Del Webb Orlando in 2010 and resumed construction, completing a clubhouse in March 2011.

WFTV.com