What Happened (and What Will Happen) with Fry Street?

I have a confession to make. When the idea was floated to redevelop the Fry St. area, I was receptive. For a while the area had been decaying and had become a cesspool of drunken high-schoolers and college kids. It wasn't that there were college kids or even the drunkenness, so much as the high-school aged drinkers with forties in hand physically accosting passers-by. Fry St. was a pit!

Despite the obvious need for something to be done, I was equally skeptical of redevelopment efforts. I didn't (and still don't) want Denton to experience the same kind of economic development that has been a 'success' in the DFW area--one anonymous retail center after another. Anonymous because they are architecturally homogeneous and also because they have an identical mix of retail offerings.

Several years later we have nothing but a large hole. Granted a large hole is better than the same retail that can be found within five minutes of anywhere else in the metroplex. But the hole is not better than what was there before the city approved development and before the developers razed buildings, that while distressed, did have character and value to the community.

Who is responsible for this debacle? And what do we do now? Today's Denton Record-Chronicle had an article updating the "progress" of development on the site. The article can be found here. I certainly appreciate that this matter is still on the radar somewhat, but I still do not understand why there is a vacant lot looking more like a mine field, than a bustling retail center (or a park for that matter).

Some remaining questions? Since the development apparently hinged on whether the CVS Pharmacy would be granted a permit for a drive thru, did the developer (and their financial backers) during due diligence seek out whether it was reasonable to expect the city to approve a drive thru at that site? If they didn't, they did a pretty shoddy job of thinking it through. Many cities and towns are now being very selective regarding drive-thru approvals. If the developers did look into the probability, then I think they'd figure approval a gamble. Why are they not looking for a tenant other than CVS, a tenant that would not need a drive thru? Why does this development depend on a drive thru for CVS?

I suspect the developers are just trying to ride roughshod over the city council's objections--they are playing hardball. Hey, city council, we'll keep this lovely bit of real estate a ruined mess and blight on the community as long as it takes for you to do things our way. I suspect the developers are acting in bad faith. What if the city answered back by seeking to condemn the land or claiming immanent domain?