For some months now, four blue half-finished hulks and three more slick, empty concrete slabs behind Harris Teeter at Chapel Hill North have been devoid of any construction activity.

There they sit, half-completed apartments with the framing, insulation board, doors, windows and stairs all in. The construction trailer is padlocked, and the grounds, covered mostly by brown dirt, straw and grass seed, are littered with drink cans, empty tubes of caulk and plastic pipe. A small stand of skinny pines is surrounded by a tree protection fence.

Quoting from a Crosland press release: "Chapel Hill North, another conveniently located Chapel Hill community, will consist of one-, two- and three-bedroom flats and townhomes that meld modern and timeless features into an appealing mix. This $20 million project will feature townhomes nestled between mature oak and maple trees. ... Community amenities will include a dog park, basketball court, kiddy lot, bio-retention pond and outdoor living areas. Flats and townhomes will be available for pre-leasing in the winter of 2009."

The winter of 2009 has come and thankfully almost gone. No leasing appears to be going on. Apparently banks have pulled the credit plug. As one developer type told me, "I don't think anyone thought the lenders would pull out when builders were halfway through. We didn't worry about that sort of thing."

The same guy added, "There's a ton of money in real estate sitting on the sidelines, that hasn't moved yet because no one's sure if the bottom has been hit." How low can we go?

Less than a mile west on Eubanks Road is another empty construction site, this one not quite so far along. The site sign proclaims that Chapel Watch Village is also a project of the Crosland Co. The permit allowed 125 apartments. The Crosland web page says it's a $26 million dollar project. Nothing's being built.

Almost all the trees are gone. The site is graded and paved with retaining walls put up. A small stream valley, the headwaters of a tiny tributary to perhaps Bolin Creek or Booker Creek is demarcated by a few remaining trees running through the center of the site. Along Eubanks Road south side, a new turn lane was graded. A series of stone check dams lines the unfinished roadway to try almost fruitlessly to keep the fine particles of muddy clay out of a tributary of nearby Old Field Creek. A series of orange safety cones remind drivers that this road edge is as treacherous or more so than the unintended, eroded-out drop-offs along the remainder of Eubanks Road shoulder.

Quoting again from the Crosland Web page: "Chapel Watch Village will consist of 120 two- and three-bedroom townhomes developed on one-third of the community's 35-acre site, sustaining great natural views of mature trees and a stream ...Pre-leasing is expected to start in late summer of 2010 with completion slated for the fall." Sounds good, but the smart money might stay on the sidelines a bit longer.

So what are the plans for these two seemingly abandoned or at least dormant projects? Will some bottom feeder offer pennies on the dollar to buy up Crosland's $46 million worth of projects to complete them? While the developers are optimistic they are about to start soon, the market doesn't seem to want much new anything. The state of North Carolina passed a law last year extending all building project permits to the end of 2010. Ironically that may have signaled banks and other investors to flee. So then we'll see.

I am not against new development in Chapel Hill and I admire those like Crosland who take risks to build big projects, especially where they adjoin existing development like the apartments at Chapel Hill North. We might even gain enough activity to support some night life on this side of town.

But I am worried about the fate of this empty land and empty buildings. Will it be just a matter of time before some squatters seek shelter in the half-finished apartments? Should the buildings be secured somehow or is it enough that no squatting happened during this cold winter? Does securing the openings qualify as crime prevention?

Similar scenes are occurring all across our state and around the country, so what are we going to do with all these stalled, abandoned or delayed projects in the time between now and the return to normalcy?