(12-28-2020, 06:21 PM)urbd Wrote: Another day, another intentional neglect in the Region. Very convenient "sad loss" to make space for redevelopment land (in this case right next to a future ION station) - the Region has always been very clear that ION's first priority is to attract redevelopment along the line and being an attractive transportation option for the community second. At least I wish the owners/developers were direct about the intentions in the first place... this trick is getting old and rotten.
There was no grand conspiracy to let it fall apart so it could be developed, it just unfortunately never got any attention because it was already in a bad state and the costs to repair everything (not just the building, but the land it's on to improve drainage etc) would have been in the tens of millions. They spent years trying to find someone willing to invest in saving this but nobody wanted to due to the costs. But there was nobody sitting there scheming and waiting for the day it fell over so they could make a condo there, it was really all about the money.
It's a weird, small plot of land that would be really challenging to redevelop anyway, even without the building in the way...