Cody Conway has a handy way of giving directions to his Roseville condo.

“I always tell friends, turn left at the unfinished apartments,” he said.

Conway and other residents of Barbara Way in Roseville can use that trick for the foreseeable future. The Adora, the half-built town home project that faces the established neighborhood, is on hold indefinitely; its builder confirmed this week.

“Our position is we’ve taken a temporary pause on the Adora project pending a market recovery,” said Katie Morales, escrow manager for developer Cresleigh Homes.

The complex is just one of a number of Placer County projects either suspended or abandoned, victims of the worst recession in decades. Reasons vary, ranging from the market collapse to bankruptcies to problems with lenders.

All three are factors in several high-profile Kobra Properties projects that now sit half built. After the company declared bankruptcy in November, its Civic Plaza office building on Vernon Street and Cena Di Mare restaurant on Eureka Road, both in Roseville, stopped in mid-construction.

Another of the developer’s unfinished projects is at Lincoln’s front door, which bothers Johnnie Aitken.

“The buildings are turning brown from being out in the weather, there’s no siding on them, so the wood’s getting moldy and the grass is starting to get overgrown,” Aitken, of Lincoln, said of the planned shopping center off Highway 65 and Sterling Parkway. Kobra’s bankruptcy trustee didn’t return calls for comment.

Municipalities can’t make a property owner complete an unfinished project – unless they want to provide financing – but they can apply pressure to keep buildings and lots secure.

In Roseville, the city last week began taking a closer look at the problem of vacant properties by surveying out-of-date building permits, said city Building Official Gene Paolini. It’s something city staff takes seriously, because structures that stand empty can invite crime and cause safety concerns if they’re not kept up.

“Right now, we’re just going through the process of identifying them,” Paolini said, adding that about 30 permits – including new construction and tenant improvements – were out of date. “We’re going to be going out there to inspect them and see where they’re at.”

If a project is found to be in violation of city codes, owners will receive a letter telling them to clean the place up within 120 days. A citizen’s complaint or permit expiration can also trigger a visit by a building inspector.

The standard includes no broken windows and no accumulating garbage, said Paul Camilleri, Roseville code enforcement officer.

“If not, fines could apply,” he said, adding that repeated violations can garner charges of $500 a day.

Rarely do problems persist to the point of legal action, but if necessary the city can request an abatement warrant that gives it the right to go onto property, fix a hazard, then place a lien on the property to recoup the costs.

“Most of the time just a notice we send them will get it done the first time,” Camilleri said.

On Barbara Way last week, thick weeds grew tall through netting designed to keep down dust at the now silent Adora work site, which is surrounded by a chain-link gate and trespassing signs. Shards of glass from a few broken bottles littered the sidewalk.

Cresleigh officials insist they are in it for the long haul, and will finish what they started. But for now, that’s little comfort for nearby residents.

“I rent here and my owner is thinking about selling. But having a construction site next door doesn’t help, but having an unfinished one is even worse,” Conway said. “I don’t want to look out at that every day.”