Whatever happened to that Park 8 condo tower, hospital, and strip-mall development planned for Beltway 8 next to Arthur Storey Park, just south of Bellaire Blvd.? The Chronicle‘s Purva Patel surveys the wreckage of the self-styled “Land of Oz”: The highrise project has long been in bankruptcy, the contractor and lender are battling over ownership of the land in court, and 2 different groups of investors and condo buyers are suing developer David Wu for their investment losses (totaling more than $2 million), alleging he has or had no intention or ability to complete the project, and that he misled them about funding and leasing commitments. Neither Wu nor his attorney would respond to the reporter’s questions.

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Patel notes that despite the bankruptcy filings and court judgments, advertisements for the project appeared in at least one Chinese-language newspaper as recently as this January. Two multilingual websites touting Park 8 are still online too! They still contain several useful bits of information, including details on the 3CmyBOX home video and gaming appliance apparently included with each unit, and the development’s helpful and apparently prescient tagline, still plastered to the top of several pages: “A Union of Western an Chinese Culture, a Combination of Fantasy and Reality.”

• Investors target developer over failed Chinatown project [Houston Chronicle]
• High-Rise Condo [Park 8]
• Previously on Swamplot: The Land of Oz: Ready to Rise Again?, Park 8 Chinatown Condo Project: Parked?, Park 8: The Land of Oz Comes to Houston

Model Photos: HAIF user ChannelTwoNews; Images: Park 8