For the greater good

Abstract

There, a major battle is under way over a massive redevelopment project that could demolish more than 60 buildings housing 100 small businesses in order to make way for an upscale retail center anchored by a Nordstrom's department store. In all, the city has slated $80 million to $100 million in public money to raze the buildings and help relocate the businesses. It would then turn the land over to a Chicago-based developer, Urban Retail Properties. The plan has the city split right down the middle, with proponents arguing that the project is critical to downtown's revitalization and opponents charging that the plan amounts to a government-sponsored land grab that will ultimately benefit few except the developer who will get the land.