The Springs Inn coming down?

So, on my way home from work yesterday I noticed the trailer unloading heavy equipment at the long closed Springs Inn, and on the way home today I took a detour down Mitchell Ave. to see that the demolition on at least a portion of the Springs Inn had started.

I suppose it's days have been numbered for some time now. From what I remember, it had been closed for the better part of a year. Keeping a site that size free from trespassers and in presentable shape for sale has to be very difficult. Liability on vacant commercial property has to be a concern for the owners as well. In other words, if I owned that property, I'd tear it down too. Sentimentality on this topic is a luxury reserved for those with no basis in reality.

I made a quick phone call to the City's Division of Building Inspection to see if the owners planned to tear the whole site down, or just the smaller building on Mitchell Ave. that I saw being torn down. It appears their intention is to demolish the entire site, but that Historic Preservation is getting time to document the old hotel/motel due to its age. Good for them.

The real question is what happens next. There are now two large tracts of land on Harrodsburg Rd. inside New Circle awaiting redevelopment. The majority of Turfland Mall property has been vacant for years, owned by a real estate giant in New York who seems content to let the property rot. What type of development belongs on these sites? Will it occur quickly or will these sites sit vacant for a decade like the Lexington Mall property? I don't know, but I suspect it will be quite some time before we see serious redevelopment of these suburban sites. Here's to hoping I'm wrong.