BigJake, It is fascinating to me learning how, for ghost towns or shopping districts, the same forces set up the pins and knock them down.
Steve, I used to have a similar conversation with a co-worker who was originally from London. It has always bothered me how wasteful Americans are, especially when it comes to structures. George Carlin once called us professional, compulsive consumers. Only problem is, when you consume a lot, you leave behind a lot of excrement. More directly, it's not at all unusual to see a new strip mall being built right next to an older failed one with boarded up windows. Why?? Because it's cheaper to build than renovate. Then the property values of the unused structures become worthless. Better to just abandon or tear down. Heritage Park was up for sale several years ago (before the owners gave up) for 3 million bucks! A fully functional (then) 600,000 square foot structure. They didn't get one offer. Just wild. And pleas with the city to help renovate and revive the mall were largely ignored, because they were too involved with the development of the new shopping mecca on the other side of town. They're following the money. It doesn't help that our economic hills and valleys are so severe and frequent.
I can see why such decisions are made, but it's still such a waste.
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