Sometimes, there are no good answers.
Recently, we learned that instead of the long-vacant Hotel Grim being turned into market-rate apartments, it would be turned into mostly low-income apartments.
This is discouraging to some of the people who are working to revive downtown and to others who just want to see a relevant, rejuvenated city core.
And these folks should be discouraged. There is every reason to believe that as the Grim goes, so will the rest of downtown development.
This is why:
Downtowns in many cities are a mix of many kinds of property, retail and living space, high end and low end. Often, these are subdivided naturally into business, entertainment and apartments consistent with the shared space. Either that, or they evolve organically into sections that make sense.
The problem with Texarkana's downtown is that it is relatively small. Everything flows into everything else. More importantly, Hotel Grim is in the middle of it all. It isn't on the edge. It isn't obscure, and it doesn't blend in. It is the first major building south of the Federal Building that straddles State Line Avenue. You can't miss it or avoid it.
It is a statement-maker. And for years, it has been screaming at us: Nobody cares.
It has sat vacant for more than two decades, its windows falling out, its demeanor depressing.
Now developers are close to having this puzzle solved, but the picture on the pieces aren't quite the same as those the city originally bought into. Do we take what we can get, or do we hold out for something more to our liking? And if we do, are we kicking the can another 10 years down the road?
Is that a risk worth taking?
There seem to be four Grim choices.
It is allowed to sit vacant. We settle for less than what we want. We wait for what we want. Or we tear it down and have a big empty space in the middle of town.
Letting it sit vacant doesn't change anything. The Grim remains a backdrop of all the chic people who want to take cool portraits with big lenses in front of distressed downtown properties. Our weekends and evenings are filled with these visitors.
Settling means it's possible the current vision for downtown will be downsized and diminished. Waiting for a better purpose means our downtown curb appeal will continue to be lacking, with no guarantee of a more favorable outcome.
Some would say tearing it down would be a better option-if it were an option.
While a mostly vacant lot sounds better than a rundown building, it doesn't make a lot of sense. It would be a big hole in the middle of downtown. It won't become a Central Park, no matter how much value we put on green space. It will look out of place-like misplaced space where a building should have been.
And frankly, getting that building down and a nice park in place would cost several million dollars. It is not a quick or cheap fix.
Someone suggested we turn it into a town square. That wouldn't work either.
The existing buildings and lots on the perimeter of this block don't fit the profile of a town square. It would look like a too little, too late, thrown-together, poor man's impression of a town square.
So here we sit with a lap full of unsatisfying choices to tempt our pocketful of dreams.
Today's editorial is correct when it points out that downtown has long been in decline, and it is unclear the nature and scope of future investments, and that anything is better than what we have now.
If it were one retailer we were talking about, or a small group of apartments, this argument would be weightier.
Unfortunately, whatever happens to the Grim, by virtue of its position and place, will set the stage for decades to come.
And, by the way, there are other folks currently investing in downtown's future, with projects big and small, in the works and on the drawing board. The Grim's fate will ripple through all those decisions.
If the vision for downtown Texarkana is as a vibrant arts, entertainment, restaurant and boutique district with mid-income and upscale apartments in the mix, then turning the most dominant building the city into mostly low-end housing could dash those hopes and discourage other investors.
Downtown redevelopment is starting to get a bit of traction. And while it has been encouraging to see movement on the future viability of the Grim, the plans keep changing, the cost keeps going up, and concerns about long-term consequences keep growing.
Many downtown supporters believe the Hotel Grim is the lynchpin to what happens next, and that somewhere lodged between risk and reward is a reality that will either break our heart or get it pumping.
Which is it? Wish it were that easy.
There is an old axiom: A bird in hand is worth two in the bush.
Some think that truth is applicable in this case.
But there is another saying that deserves consideration: Birds of a feather flock together.
If that is the greater truth, then we may be setting our sights too low.