Every business building they are tearing down in the Big City here, they're replacing with "luxury" residential condos running in the mid- to high six figures and targeted to first-time buyers. This has been going on for years and many units built in the three-to-five-year-ago range still sit empty, along with practically 100% of their first-floor storefronts. I've long wondered whether there is more than just the hope of making a profit selling them that's motivating the feverish pace of building—specifically, whether local government grant money is factoring into guaranteed profits for builders.