Riding a Real Estate Roller Coaster

But perhaps the first hint of trouble came in 2003, when many of the Florida condos were being sold to speculators, said Mike Larson, an analyst with Weiss Research.

These buyers had descended on the market with the intent of "flipping" the properties -- selling them for a profit once their value had risen with a general appreciation of home values.

"What was at first a healthy recovery -- and healthy growth out of a recession -- turned into this hyper-boom in real estate," Larson said. "You had speculation really that was unprecedented -- and builders drew up plans, snapped up land and started projects all to meet this big onslaught of demand."

In 2004, WCI Communities entered the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut markets with the purchase of Spectrum Communities, a New York home builder. A year later it gained a foothold in the Washington market when it bought Reston-based Renaissance Housing Corp., a luxury home builder and high-rise developer.

Its first condominium project in the metro area would be the company's Plaza Residences in Columbia.

The Howard County Planning Board approved the 22-story building by a vote of 3 to 1 in early 2006, and WCI Communities planned to begin construction that June. Interest in the condos was strong, the company told analysts, yet opposition to the building's height remained, and community divisions over the tower escalated.

Passionate arguments about the character of Columbia's Town Center were made in public hearings, and opponents went to court to try and reverse the decision. Local lawmakers, meanwhile, talked about introducing legislation to limit the heights of downtown buildings, even as the company began clearing the site to begin construction.

Joan Abdallah, a retired teacher and school principal, last year formed a group of potential investors in favor of the Columbia condominiums. She has been following the company's financial troubles with deep interest and said she worries that some of the people who initially expressed interest in buying a unit may be having second thoughts.

Abdallah said she is still committed because she appreciates the quality work of WCI Communities and wishes to live close to Columbia's downtown shops and restaurants. Every now and then, she said, she pulls out the marketing package she received to look at a picture of her proposed residence.

"I still am placing and visualizing myself in that building," Abdallah said. "I often drive around downtown, and I visualize myself there, and really hope that it will happen."

Jim Dietz, chief financial officer for WCI Communities, said the company plans to go forward with the project. But some analysts said its fate may depend on whether the company can secure financing and keep enough projects alive to bring in revenue.

Ever since 2006, the challenge has grown. In the fourth quarter of that year the company posted its first loss, $64.6 million. The loss came after cancellations of traditional home orders spiked, defaults in the company's condominiums surged and a luxury community in Naples did not live up to expectations.