Commercial Development News - Appraisal Development International

Mercedes Homes announces plan to shut down
By Staff Report
Tampa Bay Times
Published: Mar 6, 2012

The housing crisis continues to shrink the number of builders in Tampa Bay and Florida. Melbourne-based Mercedes Homes announced it has initiated a plan to liquidate and shutter its building operations, according to its website. Mercedes was building in five communities in the bay area: Grey Hawk at Lake Polo in Odessa; Lago Del Rey in Land O'Lakes; Silverleaf Townhomes at Seven Oaks and Watermark at Seven Oaks in Wesley Chapel; and Oak Landing in Lakeland. The company also operated in Texas, North Carolina and South Carolina. An e mail sent to Realtors said buyers "currently under contract will have their homes completed and an outside warranty will be in place to protect those buyers." Howard Buescher founded the company in 1983 and built more than 20,000 homes. At one time, Mercedes was the 20th largest builder in the country.