WASHINGTON, DC-The administration of Mayor Vincent C. Gray has ended talks with Park Morton housing redevelopment developers Landex Corp. and the Warrenton Group, due to what the city termed as unacceptable delays.

Landex Corp., of Linthicum, MD and DC-based Warrenton Group were chosen by the District in 2009 to redevelop the 174-unit Park Morton public housing community. Landex said it hoped to build approximately 500 units, including replacement units for public housing residents. More than four years later the Landex Warrenton team has only built 83, according to the Washington Post.

Deputy Mayor Victor L. Hoskins stated in a Feb. 6 letter to Landex: "The District has determined that the reasonable timeframe for progress of negotiations and achievement of redevelopment objectives has expired." He later added that repeated attempts to make progress during negotiations were not successful and that "at this point it has become clear to the District that the development of the Property in accordance with the objectives and timeframes discussed has not and will not likely occur."

Peter S. Siegel, president and chief executive of Landex, said the city's decision to end negotiations came as a surprise. "Throughout this process, at no time did anyone indicate that our rights to develop the property were at risk." See story in the Washington Post.