Boston’s Stonewall Audubon Circle, a proposed 53-unit development targeted to gays and lesbians, has been put on hold due to the struggling housing market.

The credit crunch and a lack of buyers have put New England’s first over-55 community for gays and lesbians on hold.

“We decided that the real estate and lending markets were not favorable right now and we’re going to sit tight for a while,” said David Aronstein, president of Stonewall Communities.

Last year, the Boston Redevelopment Authority approved Stonewall Audubon Circle, a 53-unit, age-restricted development targeted at, but not restricted to, gays and lesbians. The project would have filled a vacant lot and replaced a 2-story building on Miner Street, between Harvard Vanguard’s Kenmore Square facility and Beacon Street, and just steps from Fenway Park. Unit prices were expected to range from $400,000 to $600,000.

The housing cooperative was expected to break ground in the spring. The project had strong support from Mayor Thomas M. Menino and City Councilor Michael Ross.

In 2006, Stonewall and Abbott Real Estate Development, a pair of Boston-based developers, proposed a 9-story, brick-and-glass building that would house 66 units. In response to neighborhood opposition, the number of units was reduced by 13 and the height was lowered by 1.5 stories.

There are a handful of such communities nationwide, with more than two dozen planned. Proponents say the developments are a groundbreaking concept for gays and lesbians who are tired of living a secret life or being a minority. They also serve as a model for inclusive living and neighborhood revitalization, supporters say.

But Stonewall is not the only residential project in the Fenway neighborhood that has difficultly taking off. Only three condos have sold at Audubon Park, a 53-unit luxury development at 16 Miner St. Two of the units have been rented.

The MLS Property Information Network lists a sampling of the 6-story project priced from $475,000 to $814,000. But some of the condos have spent more than a year on the market and some prices have been reduced. One of the two-bedroom dwellings has seen its price drop to $599,000 from $649,000, a 7.7 percent discount.

Fred Alibrandi, the listing agent at Otis & Ahearn, tried to put the best face on sluggish sales. “We are getting 40 to 50 e-mails and 40 to 50 phone calls daily, and we’re very happy with the response we’re been getting,” he said.

But Michael Albano, president of Metropolitan Boston Real Estate, said the units are too expensive for that section of the city.

“No mater how nice the project is, the prices are overly optimistic. Even with all the marketing power of Otis & Ahearn, it’s way above what people are used to paying in the Fenway,” Albano noted. “That area is clearly not the first place a buyer would look for luxury housing. There are better values in the Back Bay, the South End, Midtown and Seaport.”

Katherine Greenough, a resident of nearby Beacon Street and a member of the Audubon Circle Neighborhood Association, said she is worried that some of the units have been rented.

“We have been looking forward to having long-term, permanent residents who would join us in making the neighborhood more stable, be civically active and populate Miner Street, so the idea of renters has us concerned.” she said.

While Greenough is hoping sales will take off, she acknowledged that the area is still a neighborhood in transition. “That street is still very gritty,” she said. “And it probably doesn’t help that some of the units facing east look out over a parking lot and the units facing west look out over a vacant lot.”