Ventana Condos Soon To Have Bank As Owner

TAMPA - Facing foreclosure, the developers of the Ventana condominiums in the Channel District have agreed to hand the keys to the project's lender and walk way, according to documents filed in Hillsborough County Circuit Court.

Ventana, completed early last year, has 85 units, but the developer has sold only 41 units, county property records show. None of the six retail condominiums have sold.

Ventana Tampa LLC, a company run by local developer Bill Ware, agreed to turn the building over to Mercantile Bank, according to a partial mortgage release filed in county court May 28. Ventana is at Kennedy Boulevard and Channelside Drive.

Court records show that Mercantile loaned the developer $31.8 million to build the condominiums. The lender filed a notice to foreclose in March.

Ware did not return a call Tuesday for comment.

The developer of Ventana sold 38 units in 2007 for a median sales price of $455,000 and three units in 2008 for a median price of $480,000, county records show.

Ventana is not the only Tampa condominium that is struggling. Three others in the Channel District have filed for bankruptcy reorganization this year. They include:

•Towers of Channelside LLC, the builder of Towers of Channelside, filed for bankruptcy protection in January after Wachovia cut off the company's credit.

•Key Developers, the developers of The Place at Channelside, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March.

•Tampa Condo 2 LLC, the developers of the proposed 472-unit Tampa Condo II, filed to reorganize under bankruptcy in March. The company is a subsidiary of Daytona Beach-based Amon Investments LLC.

The developers of these projects have something else in common: weak sales. The developers have said buyers signed contracts to purchase before the buildings were constructed but some didn't follow through after the real estate market softened.