Progress

The bylaw would not permit a mall at the edge of town, but a developer took a risk, bought land for a song and made generous campaign contributions locally. Council quietly amended the zoning and agreed to pay for roads and infrastructure, because the mall was Progress. There’d be jobs, investment – and parking!

     New national-brand retailers came to the mall; others relocated from downtown. Within three years, nothing remained in the historic core but a few locally-owned businesses without the purchasing power, the glamour, of national chains. Ah, Progress: name brand retail, sweatshop fashion, cheap crap from China – and parking!