The real estate market took another hit today, with homebuilder Levitt & Sons filing a Chapter 11 petition in Ft. Lauderdale. Local communities of Levitt include Seasons at Laurel Canyon, in Canton, and Seasons on Lake Lanier, both "active adult" communities. 

From the home page of the company website –

Levitt and Sons, like many other home builders, is navigating a challenging homebuilding market.

We are working around-the-clock to address those challenges and resolve issues associated with our communities. In the interim, sales and closings are on hold.

Existing customers are welcome to call the customer hotline at 877-538-4889.

Existing vendors are welcome to call 888-538-4893. We hope to have a resolution in the coming weeks.

From Rueters –

Levitt & Sons, the home building unit of Levitt Corp that created one of the first American suburbs, said on Friday that it had filed for bankruptcy protection, reflecting the badly battered Florida market.

The unit, which made most of its money in Florida, said Chapter 11 filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of Florida, was made "in response to unprecedented conditions in the homebuilding industry, which have severely impacted the company."

Levitt, which built "Levittown," a subdivision in Long Island, New York that is widely regarded as the first master-planned community, said the downturn was especially pronounced in Florida, where nearly all of its focus has resided.

From the AJC –

The announcement late Friday capped weeks of uncertainty after Levitt stopped all construction work on its Georgia properties and laid off workers.

Levitt officials blamed the dismal home sales market, which has been especially severe in Florida, for its troubles and underscored its efforts to restructure the company’s debt. Veteran bankruptcy attorney Lawrence E. Young has been hired as Levitt’s chief restructuring officer and will oversee Levitt’s bankruptcy negotiations and company business related to the filing….

Local contractors filed dozens of liens and other legal actions against the company for unpaid work as they lined up to collect whatever they can garner from the anticipated bankruptcy. A landscaping company removed its flora from the grounds of the long-anticipated, 28,000-square-foot amenities center at Seasons at Laurel Canyon, which is near completion.

Because the Seasons developments are designed as leisure communities for adults 55 and older, most of the homeowners and buyers are retirees who sold their former family homes to finance their move to the neighborhoods’ promised fun-filled, hassle-free lifestyle.