From a penthouse balcony on the 29th floor of the best building he ever built, Richard Sacchi stared out over downtown Tampa.

He was broken, a developer whose company had just filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It was a last-ditch effort to stop foreclosure on The Towers of Channelside, twin condos that got stuck in the housing downturn.

From that balcony, he had a view of two other new condominium complexes, one that filed for bankruptcy a month earlier and another that handed the keys over to the lender and walked away.

"We fully expect to come out of this on the other side," Sacchi said at the time.

That was in March. This month, the developer called with much better news.

The lender that forced Sacchi's hand in bankruptcy by cutting off the credit line has agreed to structure a new loan. That means the company can finish the project and pay off creditors.

This is big news. It's likely, industry insiders say, that the Towers is the first condo complex in Florida to emerge from bankruptcy.

Only time will tell if more follow suit.

The housing boom seemed to bring developers - and wannabes - out of the woodwork. News releases announcing the "tallest" or "most luxurious" condos to ever grace Tampa arrived on my desk regularly.

At one time, there were more than two dozen condo complexes planned for in and around downtown. City officials were just giddy when asked what that kind of development could do to the downtown core, which pretty much shuts down with the business day.

Some of the condos seem to be doing just fine. But many developers, such as the Towers of Channelside LLC, just started too late. The boom fizzled before all the units sold.

All 257 condos were spoken for at one point, Sacchi said. But as the market soured, buyers, many of whom planned to flip for big profits, dropped out. When Wachovia refused to extend the repayment plan for the construction loan, bankruptcy was the only option.

The Towers project wasn't alone. Some condo proposals faded away quietly. Others made big headlines.

Trump Tower Tower Tampa. The developer of the proposed 52-story condo is in Chapter 11, and unless The Donald signs on to a new agreement, the Trump name is off-limits now.

Ventana. The developer of the 84 condominiums in the Channel District surrendered ownership to its lender in June.

Tampa Condo II. The developer of the proposed 472-unit condo filed to reorganize under bankruptcy in March.

The Place At Channelside. Amid Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the developer of the 245-unit building sold 171 unsold units at auction in October. The winning bidder bought all of them for $21.9 million. That's quite a deal, considering the developer owed the bank about $47 million.

Back at The Towers of Channelside, Sacchi is hopeful that shedding the stigma of bankruptcy will help the towers become successful after all.

He has 150 condos left to sell. That includes the penthouse on the 29th floor, which Sacchi has always planned to buy for himself.

From the balcony, he'll look out over whatever residential neighborhood Tampa eventually becomes.

Reporter Shannon Behnken can be reached at (813) 259-7804.