[RP TownTalk] Interesting Use of Eminent Domain

[Alice Ewen Walker]

>No one thought to put a clause in the contract that the buildings had
to be occupied

Exactly. The town contract for this deal was lengthy, and, I think
pretty well done, overall.  It included many penalties, time
deadlines, and provisions centering around the pace and performance of
rehabilitation of the buildings, but nothing about occupancy.  We
assumed that anyone who poured money into rehab would have a profit
motive to get the properties leased.

This is the sort of stuff where our limited esperience as a small
community makes us vulnerable.  We thought of many contingencies, but
not this one.

- Alice