Stand in the middle of the Whole Foods lot on Greenville and look south, and there are old buildings, an empty lot where the Arcadia used to be, and some more old buildings. Look across the street, and there’s an old strip center or two and a gas station. Don’t you think, as soon as Whole Foods said it was moving, that every developer in town started shaking with excitement? (That many of those buildings contain established, popular businesses that aren’t bars that provide livelihoods for working people is, of course, just a minor inconvenience).

It will be a fascinating battle to watch, especially since City Councilman Mitch Rasansky apparently owns the lot the Whole Foods is on. And, just to liven things up a bit more, a well-known neighborhood type who gets way more publicity than he deserves lives across the street from the Whole Foods. It would be fun to sit back and enjoy the fight, if the future of Lower Greenville didn’t depend on what happens.

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