[ardecila]

*sigh* The economy makes condos infeasible right now. The condos would have occupied the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th story of Metropolis.

The community places a premium on having a food store in the community, which is currently lacking except for a Jewel in Lake Meadows that is universally despised for its small size and poor choice. Capri Capital is willing to build a food store in their neighborhood.

The use of TIF money also places pressure on the developer to deliver ASAP. People don't like seeing their tax money get redirected from schools and police/fire to shadowy developers with no tangible result.

Hence, the project is redesigned to save money, with the residences cut out.

Perhaps you can use your newfound appreciation of strip malls to recognize that this project is really a huge victory in such a marginal, emerging area? This isn't Wicker Park, where the city can slap a pedestrian-street ordinance on the hood and expect everybody to walk or circle for 30 minutes looking for street parking. The project has nice landscaping, retail parcels along Pershing, State, and 40th, and plenty of sidewalks and stuff to help pedestrians get safely and comfortably to the stores.