It’s official: the planned “Fondren Building” (AKA La Vista on Lavaca) — a nine-story residential mixed-use tower consisting of 19 condominiums on the top four floors, a three-floor Executive Business Center, and first floor restaurant — has been abandoned mid-construction by its new owners. As a result, a 9-story concrete shell now sits idle on Lavaca street near the capital.
According to the Austin Business Journal, the owners of the Fondren have filed for bankruptcy claiming 13.8 million in debts and $9.3 million in assets. In August, the partnership asked a judge for permission to sell the building to a New York investor for $8.4 million. Apparently, this deal has
fallen-through leaving the developers with few options for liquidation.
Complicating efforts to sell, the Austin Business Journal reports that “Travis County, which is owed $175,950 in unpaid property taxes, and Dallas-based Precept Builders Inc., which is owed $3.7 million, filed objections after the request to sell.”
The 8-year-old project has had multiple owners and a sorted history.
