My initial inspiration for this project came from a recent trip back home (30 minutes away). I went to the Poughkeepsie Galleria and then went to the Christmas Tree Shop in the South Hills Mall Plaza. I have so many fond memories of the South Hills Mall, but now it resembles something closer to a ghost town. The parking lot for it is almost as big as the mall itself, yet there are lots that have not been filled in 10 years or more. Whenever I visit the plaza, I always think of what that parking lot could be changed into - like a park or a garden for the community. I think of the same thing when I pass this one site on my way home from Red Oaks Mill. It used to be a lawn and garden center, like Adams, and every Christmas they would put a giant inflatable snowman on top of the roof so you could see it from the road as you passed by. It's probably been abandoned for at least 10 years now and through the years, I've watched the building collapse and all of the other businesses in that area seemed to disappear along with it. The overgrown lot is still for sale, but no one wants it. I would love to see something done with it and I believe this is a growing problem in cities around the world, not just here.
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