The Woodcliff is a neighbourhood with nearly 100 abandoned homes within Whitehall city. It has been completely abandoned since 2019. This site spans 36 acres, containing over 150 condos, most of them duplexes. In all, the neighborhood of Woodcliff had 317 units.
In 1953, Woodcliff was established as a very desirable place to live and work. People who grew up in the neighborhood of Woodcliff pre-1990 remember it as a safe, respectable town where hardworking families could live the suburban dream. Cultural barriers and indifference between residents started to arise. Outdated housing, a transient population, language and cultural barriers and a high crime rate are phenomena that chase each other in Woodcliff.
In 2007 the city and county filed a health complaint, noting that the condo association management had been disposing of residents’ trash by simply dumping it in the swimming pool, and hiring contractors to clean it out every month. In 2008 judge declared the entire 317 units as a public nuisance.
By 2012, investors began purchasing foreclosed and abandoned Woodcliff units for just a few thousand dollars. Unfortunately, not all landlord owners were fixing and maintaining their properties.
Citing building conditions and the high number of police runs to the neighborhood, the city of Whitehall purchased the property for just under $9-Million dollars in 2018. After the city purchased the property, it announced that locals would need to vacate their homes. However, after negotiations the city of Whitehall allowed families with children in Whitehall schools stay through the end of the school year.
A Florida-based developer is expected to invest around $250 million into a development for the 50-acre parcel, which includes the abandoned Woodcliff Condominiums. As of April, 2022 demolition is expected to begin in the next few months in anticipation of the long-awaited “transformational” redevelopment of the eastern entrance to Whitehall.
