Land Development in the City of Cleveland.

Unfinished Cardboard homes that have caused blight in the area for years.

City of Cleveland officials doubt that they can recover the $688,000 loan that was awarded to Ameri-Con Homes when the company promised to build 150 townhouses and condominiums on West 53rd Street, near Interstate 90.

Ameri-Con abandoned its plans in 2007 after building six homes and selling three. 

The land was sold at auction in 2008 and was bought by Marc Strauss and Doug Perkowski. 

 Two years later, the property remains in limbo.  The unfinished cardboard homes are an eyesore.

Ameri-Con's pullout left lenders including Huntington, Village Capital Corp. and the city of Cleveland empty-handed. Huntington put roughly $2.75 million into a construction loan for Ashbury Towers, while the city lent developers nearly $688,000 to build affordable housing. 

Taxpayers lost $688,000.