Luxury limbo: Ahead of auction, Vue’s sales office close

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If you want to buy a condominium at The Vue, you might have a hard time getting in touch with a project representative.

With a foreclosure auction for the property set for next month, the sales office for the struggling, 51-story luxury condo project, where less than two dozen condos out of more than 400 have sold, has been shut down.

A website for the project’s developer, Chicago-based MCL Cos., also no longer works. Developer Dan McLean would not comment, according to Anne Miller, sales and marketing director for The Vue.

Even Shane McDevitt, owner of Charlotte-based real estate firm McDevitt Agency, said last week that he was having trouble getting information about the project.

“I don’t seem to be able to get hold of anyone there now that the building is in transition,” said McDevitt, who has been representing condos at the building since 2010.

The auction is set for June 12. Northwood Investors, a New York real estate investment company, last month started foreclosure proceedings against The Vue North Carolina LLC and McLean.

The Uptown project, at 404 W. Fifth St., was announced in 2005. The original developers failed to get financing. In 2007, MCL bought the development and completed it.

A grand opening was held in September 2010 and attracted hundreds of attendees interested in finally seeing a project that had long been stalled. But as the housing market collapsed, buyers starting fleeing the project, walking away from their deposits or suing to get them back.

There have been scant sales of Vue condos; Miller last week said only 19 of the 409 condos have been sold.

What the future holds for the high-profile development in Charlotte’s 4th Ward remains uncertain. Some have suggested it might be converted to apartments, although McLean told the media in March that the project would remain a condo development.

There are multiple websites for the project, and it’s unclear which is the official one. One, vuecharlotte.com, was still active as of last week, but many of its pages were no longer accessible.

On Wednesday, the sales office was closed, although a small dog could be seen roaming around inside. A sign on the office read “The sales office is currently closed. We apologize for any inconvenience.”

The building also features retail space on the ground floor. On Wednesday, signs still advertised retail space for lease and included QR codes that allowed access to electronic floor plans.

The security guard at the front desk of the tower told a reporter that no media were allowed in the building’s lobby and directed all inquiries to Miller. Reached by phone, Miller refused to comment on the foreclosure or upcoming auction.

For roughly an hour during lunchtime Wednesday, no residents were seen entering or leaving the building.

SCOTT BAUGHMAN, [email protected], contributed.

VUE POINTS

The Vue is heading for a foreclosure auction June 12. Here’s a look at the project.

Address: 404 W. Fifth St.

Floors: 51

Condos: 409

Number sold: 19

Source: Mecklenburg Times staff research