Posted: March 11, 2009 |(0) Comments

The developer of the Falcon Glen condominium development told the Greenfield Plan Commission last night the project will not be able to go on as planned.

Because of poor sales, the developer, Mark Wimmer of Falcon Glen LLC, is proposing luxury leased apartments rather than condominiums in the project, which encompasses parts of Greenfield and Hales Corners on Edgerton Avenue.

Falcon Glen LLC had planned 166 condominiums but, in the midst of the housing crisis and economic recession, has sold only two.

"It is no longer economically feasible to sustain the Falcon Glen project as originally conceived," Wimmer said.

Starting in 2007, when construction began, prospective buyers could not sell their existing home or accept a drastic reduction in value that a sale would realize, Wimmer said in a letter to Plan Commissioners.

Falcon Glen offered deep discounts but only closed on two sales over two years. Developers then suspended sales in January to re-evaluate the marketplace.

Construction began in 2007 and is expected to continue until 2011. The infrastructure, roadway and utilities and essentially 16 residences are complete on the 18-acre site.

Roughly 15 acres lie in Greenfield while the other land is in Hale Corners.

The Greenfield Plan Commission last night supported the change and forwarded the proposal to the Common Council, which will hold a public hearing in April.

Commissioners were wary, however, of the precedent it sets. Several condo projects are currently under construction or in the works.

For more on this story, see the March 19 issue of the Greenfield-West Allis NOW.