$20 million bluff
It was all a bluff. The whole business with threatening to demolish the Ormsby House was just a bluff the owners pulled on the city to get some attention. And it worked. The city was panicked all week, and on Friday they met with the owners ready to give them whatever they wanted to continue with the project. The owners spelled out what they wanted, and the city caved. They gave everything. The red tape has been cut, the rough processes have been smoothed out, the roadblocks have been smashed. Three years the owners have been fighting with the city, and all it took was one little demolition permit to get them to fold.
Well played, Ormsby. Well played.