The home sales slump has knocked John Wieland's name off a new ethics center at Emory University.

Atlanta homebuilder John Wieland said Monday he has "put on hold" the balance of a $5 million pledge made in 2006 to build the center after contributing an initial "seven-figure" portion of his gift. He would not say exactly how much was owed.

Ben Gray/AJC (ENLARGE)

John Wieland described the end of 2007 as 'the most miserable time of my life.'

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"The pledge included the possibility of recision in case something terrible happened in the homebuilding business, and, obviously, something terrible has happened in the homebuilding business," Wieland said.

In November, Wieland laid off 59 employees and announced that his luxury One Museum Place condo project on Peachtree Street had been suspended indefinitely. Just two months later, his company, John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods, slashed prices on its houses and offered a lifetime structural warranty to try to sell a backlog of more than 400 homes in 30 communities around metro Atlanta.

At the time, Wieland described the end of 2007 as "the most miserable time of my life."

Wieland said Monday his other numerous charitable obligations around Atlanta have been met.

"Emory is the only currently outstanding item," Wieland said.

The $5 million was to fund construction of a 10,000-square-foot center that will be part of the new 70,000-square-foot expansion of Emory's Candler School of Theology on the university campus.

Ron Sauder, Emory's vice president for communications, said the new theology building will be completed on schedule this summer, but Wieland's failure to pay the remainder of the gift will cause "some ripple effect" on other campus projects that will be delayed.

He declined to say how much Wieland has paid.

Had Wieland paid the $5 million in full, the new ethics center would have borne his name. But Sauder said that plan has also changed.

"We are going to honor his request that the center open without his name on it," Sauder said.

The university has so far encountered no other difficulties with its major pledges, despite the economic downturn, Sauder said.

"This is the only situation of this type I'm aware of," Sauder said. "I trust that this is an unusual situation."

Despite the interruption in the $5 million pledge, both the homebuilder and the Emory official said Wieland's relationship with the university remains strong.

"He is a good friend of Emory and we appreciate the money he has given us," Sauder said.