Soap box rant

Warning This is me on my soapbox, I try no to climb on it too often, especially publicly but sometimes I’ve just face-palmed a bit too much lately…

Like every where else in the country Peoria is feeling the effects of the economy.  We have more empty buildings where businesses have gone out of business in more places than I like to admit.  It’s quite scary.  We have a strip mall that is completely empty minus a bank that is building a new building, and a lone clothing store.  I can’t imagine the clothing store can stay in a mall all by itself…even if the chain business itself is doing ok…and who knows if it is doing ok.  But what really baffles me is why businesses feel the need to build entirely new buildings from scratch rather that move into one of the many empty buildings around town.  So renovating might be a tad more money…at least the town would be out another building.  And the odds of said new business doing well right now are well not all that great.  So really are they just building new buildings just to create possible future empty buildings?  I’ve played Sim City…empty buildings increase crime and pollution.  Not sure why but that’s the way the game goes.  So why is it so hard to just move into a already built building?  Paint it, build some or tear down some walls, to make it work, that has to be cheaper than completely putting up a new building.  So what brought my little soap box rant on?  while going out tonight to pick up some pizza for us and some company I passed by a strip mall that has so far been doing well is said economy.  And they are tearing up an area big enough for two brand new buildings for possibly two new businesses or one giant business.  (don’t get me started on the “super” big box stores..ugh)  It just makes me sad to see this, I know its good for the construction business, but still I think it’s sad.

All right…rant done…good night. 

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