NORFOLK, Va. - The Federal Government ordered the developer of the Granby Tower project in Norfolk to hand over the property, or it will be seized. The government offered Buddy Gadams The Granby Tower was supposed to be completed in late 2007. Developer Buddy Gadams blames the government for threatening to take the land when he was trying to develop it, and then Wall Street collapsed.

Developer Buddy Gadams sat down with WAVY.com to talk about the heartache of losing Granby Tower. "I'm realistic to know that this is the end of the road for the Granby Tower. I just hope it's not the end of the road for me," he said.

Gadams is pulling the plug on Granby Tower because the Federal Government wants to expand the Walter Hoffman Federal Courthouse and they want the undeveloped Granby Tower site to do it.

The General Services Administration sent Gadams a letter that said give us the land for $6.1 million dollars or we'll condemn it. "The GSA killed the project and now wants to steal the property, so the battle is not over for me.... I just want to be treated fairly," Gadams said. "How do I know the offer is fair if they keep the appraisal secret. All they say is 'trust us it's fair'.... I don't trust them.... I want to get my own appraisal."

Gadams and his attorney do not consider the government's offer a "bail out" for the Granby Tower land that Gadams possibly could never have secured funding. "How you could ever say that he's being bailed out? Not with all the money he's put into the property...that's the government's position," Waldo said.

Gadams rejected the offer. He sent a notice to the government to seek an appraisal, so he could understand the basis of the $6.1 million offer, Waldo told WAVY.com. The next step is a certificate of taking, which will be filed by the federal government in federal court.

It is possible Gadams would not get funding, so the $6 million government offer could be the best that comes along. Gadams and Waldo claim more than $15 million has been put into the project over the years. They vow to fight in court to get more money than what was offered.

Gadams says he still has deposits for 50 investors totaling millions of dollars. Gadams did not know how much he actually has nor did he know the interest rate. "All these people stuck with me. All the money will be returned with interest...we will be sending out letters during the next two weeks. They will need to confirm their address, and then the bank will send them a check."

There's no doubt Uncle Sam can take the land legally through eminent domain. The question is, how much is fair market value?

Norfolk Mayor Paul Fraim told WAVY.com he isn't even convinced the government will ever build anything on the land, leaving it what it is.

In the end, the big deep hole in the middle of Norfolk, which was to be the Granby Tower, is what it is: a symbol of the collapse of Wall Street, and the power of the federal government.