Kind of like the mall that was costing $500k a year to maintain.

the argument that "we could use that $1 million for something else" is kind of ridiculous.  Sure, I could avoid seeing my dentist and use that money to buy something more useful -- repairs on house, tools, etc.  But at what cost?  You're just avoiding paying the piper later on.

The thing that grips me about this ordeal is this:

1.)    At the time of the mall’s demise, the parking garage was bad shape and was an expense to the city

2.)    The city owned Swallens, which at the time was vacant

3.)    The city was presented several options for the mall removal

a.       Keeping the parking garage and making Broad one-way

b.      Removing the parking garage and opening Broad to two-way traffic

c.       And the third option I believe was to keep that portion of Broad Street covered

4.)    In the end the city selected option a.) and went to the expense of relocating and rebuilding the elevator for the garage.  The city also went to the expense of redoing the Swallens storefront (which had no pre-mall storefront because it was a post mall building)

5.)    The mall project was completed in 2003

6.)    It’s now 2010, and had the decision to remove the garage as part of the mall project not only would Broad Street accommodate two way traffic, but the thing would almost be paid for.