Amsterdam seeking $2M grant to demolish 5 Corners strip mall

[Retail Regents]

The city of Amsterdam is seeking a state grant to demolish the decrepit Reid Hill Plaza. The $2M grant will only cover the building demolition and not the site cleanup.

https://dailygazette.com/2022/09/11/amsterdam-seeking-2m-grant-to-demolish-5-corners-strip-mall/

[TheFugitive]

I suspect this is going to become an increasingly big issue over time as dead malls and empty big-boxes continue to deteriorate.  The owners move on/go bankrupt and dealing with the burden of the dilapidated eyesore falls into the lap of local governments.  A notorious example was the Dixie Square Mall in Harvey, Illinois where the car chase scene from The Blues Brothers was shot.  That thing sat there falling apart for decades, becoming a hangout for vagrants and drug users, while buck-passing over who was going to pay to tear it down went on and on. 

Here in the PA/WV area this happened years ago with coal mines that had played out and were abandoned.  As they subsided or leaked acid drainage the cleanup costs fell to government since the companies that owned them typically had gone bankrupt.  This led to a new system where if you want to mine coal you first have to post a bond that will help cover the cost of clean-up should there be a problem with that mine in the future.  Even if your company does not exist by then.

Something like that probably needs to be done with retail.

[BillyGr]

However, on this one it sounds like they know who owns it (those who own the gas station next door), so they should simply force that owner to take care of it or do it themselves and bill them for doing so (as they do for other demolitions if it is considered needed).

[Retail Regents]

UPDATE: The Common Council approved a $304,500 contract to Jackson Demolition for demolition work.

[Retail Regents]

Another update: This place is finally coming down.

https://www.dailygazette.com/the_recorder/five-corners-mall-demolition/article_988a0186-9aca-11ee-94c7-53cb99cf8ffc.html