NORFOLK

A Norfolk couple who sued the developer of the Granby Tower to recoup its deposit for condo units recently resolved the dispute out of court.

Jon Crockford and his wife, Jennifer, filed suit in March in Norfolk Circuit Court to have their contract cancel ed or declared invalid.

The couple deposited 10 percent toward the $1.19 million price for two units it planned to consolidate, according to the suit.

Because of construction delays and uncertainty with the 302-unit project, the Crockfords wanted to recover their deposit without penalty, they said in their complaint.

They challenged a clause in their contract with the defendant, 515 Granby LLC, that allows the developer to push back the units' October 2008 delivery date.

The court's dismissal order didn't disclose any details about the settlement terms. Calls on Tuesday to attorneys for the Crockfords and Marathon Development Group, the developer, weren't returned.

Marathon Development is a key partner in 515 Granby LLC.

Dismissal of the Crockfords' suit on April 22 came in the wake of an April 17 letter to Granby Tower condo buyers promising full refunds if financing for the long-delayed project couldn't be secured.

In his letter to the buyers, Marathon Development CEO Buddy Gadams said that if funding could not be arranged "in a reasonable time period, we will grant requests by those buyers who wish to terminate their purchase agreement and will provide a full refund of the earnest money."

The estimated cost of the project is $180 million.

Marathon Development, he said, "remains completely committed to the Granby Tower project" and continues to talk with prospective lenders.

Foundation work on the project at Granby Street and Brambleton Avenue was halted in September, and construction equipment has been removed from the site.

Tom Shean, (757) 446-2379, tom.shean@pilotonline.com