Construction

The seemingly endless construction project next door is in its final stages. Since the beginning of Summer, a dentist has been noisily building his office there. I know I've lost business from all the racket, but I'm hoping it brings more traffic in the sleepy little shopping center. I think the Japanese restaurant next to them has been brought to their knees because of this. It's one thing to shop in a noisy store, it's another to choose to have your lunch with all the pounding and drilling.

The construction project is a pretty big undertaking, costing a few hundred thousand dollars with the build-out of a mezzanine level, several bathrooms and specialized plumbing and electrical. Talking to the contractor (the dentist's brother), the cost of the build-out should mean they'll need to stay for least ten years to recoup their costs. You can do the math on that, but there's no surprise there's money in tooth repair.

The other day a couple of the contractors flunkies stopped by to talk. They had failed a city inspection because the electrical along our shared wall needed to have the conduit replaced. They thought I should pay for this, since the city required it and well, I guess because I was there first. Nice try. The property management company already told them to blow, it turns out, so they figured they would hit me up, since my game store seems to be making me such a wealthy man.

They pointed out that a fire could start because of the problem. First, the problem will be gone one way or another, because the city won't approve their construction otherwise. Second, I don't recall buying a multi-million dollar commercial building recently, so I don't see how I should make upgrades to one. Third, my insurance company handing me a big check after my store burns down during a recession is not the end of the world. That would certainly solve my AT-43 liquidation problem. Anyway, I can be a little cavalier because I know they'll have to fix it.