WCI Communities Inc. has returned deposits to everyone with reservations for its Plaza Residences - the 23-story tower planned near the Columbia lakefront - while keeping the reservations intact, the company said in a statement this week.
"We appreciate their patience as we look forward to the continued successful development of the Plaza Residences," Robert H. Grabner Jr., vice president/senior project manager of the tower division of WCI Mid-Atlantic U.S. Region Inc., said in a statement. Grabner assumed responsibility for the Columbia project last month.
The glitzy Wincopin Circle showroom for the luxury condos is locked tight, and a sign at the front door announces that it is open by appointment only.
Barbara Byrd, who lives in the nearby Lakeside condos with her husband, was one of those surprised last week to receive a deposit check back from WCI.
"They said they thought it was unfair to hold our money any longer," she said Wednesday. "They said the soonest they could get anything going was mid-2009. I've been waiting since two developers ago for the project to get off the ground."
Byrd said her excitement when she first saw WCI clear the land quickly evaporated when she saw grass planted on it.
"It doesn't look like anything is happening now," she said.
Byrd said she expects the company will change the height of the proposed building.
"I think ultimately they want community goodwill, and so they might make some changes to their initial plan," she said of the project in which height has been an issue.
Her husband is eager to move into the proposed tower, but her enthusiasm has waned slightly, she said.
"Because it's been so long, I'm fairly comfortable where I am," she said. "I don't know how expensive they'll ultimately be."
The Plaza Residences are awaiting a Maryland Court of Special Appeals ruling regarding the appeal of the site development plan. No date for the hearing has been set, and one is not expected before June, according to the WCI statement.
"We remain very optimistic about the project," Grabner said in the statement. WCI was "particularly heartened" by the Jan. 16, Howard County Circuit Court decision dismissing the petition for judicial review, he wrote.
"The ruling to dismiss that petition is just the latest in a string of rulings that favor construction of the Plaza Residences," he said. "We believe the appeal that remains before the Maryland Court of Special Appeals will be similarly situated."
