The Towers are part of an effort to revitalize Tampa's downtown district, but due to the massive influx of condo construction and the poor housing market the builders were forced to file for bankruptcy protection.

Jacksonville and Gainesville in the north, for example, which did not experience rampant overdevelopment, have not felt the impact of the downturn as much as in South Florida, where high-rise condo construction was largely fueled by speculators.

The downturn in the U.S. real estate market in 2007, combined with a surge of new condo construction, brought spiraling prices somewhat under control.

Ottawa has not seen as extensive a boom in condo construction as Toronto or Vancouver, but several prominent structures have been built including the Minto Metropole and a number of towers in the Byward Market area.

After the oil bust, condo construction came to a halt save for a few optimists who regard the sands of Destin as "white oil" -not subject to errant currents of supply and demand.

Less new housing construction - and far less condo construction - is going on in Bergen than in Hudson.

A marketing consultant said the investors had probably paid too much for the building in view of the bulge in condo construction and did not have the marketing experience to make it work.

Developers, spotting an opportunity, have been investing in condo construction at a feverish pace.

But the real focus these days has turned inland, to downtown Miami, which has seen a boom in condo construction.

One growing area on the water is Sunny Isles Beach, a formerly retiree-dominated community north of Miami Beach that has seen an influx of younger buyers and an accompanying boom in condo construction.