After Years of Setbacks, Construction on 23 Caton Place Resumes

After years of stop-work orders and financial maladies, the looming skeleton of 23 Caton Place—the condo development that never was—appears to be back on track.

Rich Brown, who heads up security for the site, told Patch that the 120,000 square-foot structure recently came under new ownership, and should fulfill its initial destiny to become 107 units of condos sometime next year.

He said construction has been under way for about a month.

Neither the new nor old owners of the property could be reached for comment.

Designed by architect Karl Fischer and originally dubbed "Caton on the Park," the development has suffered a long list of setbacks ever since construction first began in 2004.

Complaints tell of everything from unauthorized after-hours work to dangerous scaffolding, and several stop-work orders cited damages to nearby properties.

According to the blog "Stalled Developments in the 39th Council District," operated by the office of Councilman Brad Lander, D-Park Slope, the project's lender filed to foreclose on the property in June 2008, with the mezzanine lender filing for bankruptcy shortly thereafter. When the bank responsible for the original mortgage loan failed, construction on the development ground to a halt entirely.

Now back underway, it seems the complaints are once again rolling in: The most recent, posted on June 28, tells of squatters allegedly inhabiting the site's lower floors.

Do you think 23 Caton Place will ever come to fruition? Or is it doomed to live in construction limbo forever? Tell us in the comments.