So much for the big plans to sell Starrett City. They have been killed by a combination of recession, a dead credit market and the delusions of owners that they get a price that won’t fly in 2009. The deal is D.E.A.D. Per the Times:

The owners of Starrett City, the country’s largest federally subsidized housing complex, have abandoned their heady dream of selling the property for more than a billion dollars. Starrett City, with 5,881 apartments in 46 towers spread across 140 acres, nearly sold for $1.3 billion in 2007, but that deal was blocked. Now it is off the market. The possible sale of the housing complex, long a haven for working and middle-class families, had unsettled tenants. The owners, a group of investors led by Disque Deane, cited the faltering economy and a lack of financing as the reasons. But the sale may have foundered over price, said Donald Cogsville, who until Monday led a consortium of nonprofit organizations and developers that had been negotiating to buy Starrett City for the past two months. Neither side would discuss details of the proposed sale, although some real estate executives familiar with the talks said that the group had offered about $700 million.

The irony is that had the bloated $1.3 billion 2007 deal gone through, the Feds would probably be bailing out the buyers with taxpayer money at this very moment. No worries. We are certain that by 2015 all will be back on track.