Lisa,
I'm not certain but there seems to be an active movement to continue the unprecedented growth of the mission district and as housing prices plummet, the difference what can be bought v. what has to be restored will only continue grow. This project has skyrocketed to the point where the only fiscally-responsible thing to do is to use the City's demolition by neglect ordinance to stabilize and secure the structure until market conditions become favorable for private redevelopment. The TYP should then pursue the many other less expensive options currently available...these more cost-effective options would allow more people to benefit from "housing first", are close to public transportation and service sector jobs.

Mr. Finley has stated via public forums that the project has not sky rocketed since its initial ~$3mm estimate (it is now ~$7mm+ and counting) but that begs the question...if the TYP and VMC knew the $3mm was artificially low, why wasn't the public and our legislative bodies notified of this? He further compares the cost to other historic renovations but only those in other cities which is like comparing an apple to a T-Bone steak.

This project stands at ~200/ft2 and is much more expensive than other renovations such as North Central Village and is comparable to some of Knoxville's most expensive homes.