My old post about eminent domain abuse at International Plaza in Arlington Heights attracted a new comment a few days ago:
The center looks horrible and TARGET SHOULD HAVE GONE THERE!!! The place looks like complete dog sh**!!! I can’t believe a bunch of idiots stopped it from happening. You should all be ashamed of yourselves!!!
TARGET WILL RETURN AND I WILL SEE ALL YOU LOUD MOUTHS SHOPPING THERE!IDIOTS!!
It’s signed “Target Man”.
Just so you don’t think this guy is some kind of lone wacko, his comment is followed nine minutes later by another post with a similar view from the same IP address but signed with a Completely Different Name!
It’s probably a sign of my desperation for content that I’m responding to this nonsense, but…
Nobody stopped Target from moving in except Target.
What eminent domain opponents did was stop Target from stealing the property. Plaza owner Su-Chuan Hsu is a business woman, and if Target wants a store where International Plaza is, all they have to do is buy it from her at her price and buy off the tenants’ leases.
As for the condition of the mall, what do you expect? With the eminent domain proceeding hanging over the place for all these years, no one wants to lease space in the mall because they could lose their investment (the cost of moving and renovation) if Arlington Heights takes the property away. Leaseholders usually get screwed real bad by eminent domain.
Of course I’ll shop at Target if they put one there. I like Target. But the property belongs to Ms. Hsu, and she’s the only person who should get to decide how to use it.
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