In just a one-mile stretch of Crenshaw Lake Road, eight higher-end homes are under construction, a testament to the return of the housing market.
(Michael Hinman/Staff Photo)
But one fossil from the housing boom-gone-bust had cast a shadow over this growing neighborhood for years. On Monday, the unfinished 8,700-square-foot home on an overgrown lot came crashing down — one of the largest single-family homes to ever be demolished by the Hillsborough County Code Enforcement department.
Construction for the three-story home at 3319 Crenshaw Lake Road began in 2008, but a construction permit for it expired in 2009, according to county officials. Construction itself likely stopped at around the same time, leaving concrete block walls, and wood, insulation and unfinished windows to simply rot under the Florida sun.
Country Squire Estate Custom Homes LLC bought the lakeside lot and two others like it in late 2006 for $756,000, according to county property records. It used a $605,000 mortgage from Capital City Bank to fund it.
Construction began in February 2008, but the first liens against the property started in May when Stock Building Supply said it was owed just under $4,000. Route 41 Manufacturing followed a month later with a $25,500 claim against the home.
Later, three other companies would file liens totaling $50,000 for the property, and construction would completely stop.
Code enforcement stepped to the plate in 2010 and found the home in violation of nuisance ordinances, and maintaining a construction site without permits. It’s been accruing daily fines since July 2010, which now total $254,000.
The land is still owned by Country Squire Estate, which is no longer in business, according to the Better Business Bureau. The company, which listed John Whitehead of Masaryktown and Kenneth Rosenbaum of Odessa as managers, became inactive last September, according to Florida’s Division of Corporations.
Selling the land will be tricky even beyond that, as the liens for construction and demolition would have to be cleared first. But once the county’s work is complete, the million-dollar-home that never was will be no more.
Published March 26, 2014
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