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The saga of uncertainty that had enveloped the former McCrory's building on 11th Avenue in Downtown Altoona for so long is poised to come to an honorable end, now that the city has taken over ownership of the deteriorated structure and is preparing to transfer it to the Altoona Redevelopment Authority.
The authority will be tasked with finding a developer with the financial wherewithal, vision, skill and determination to rescue the building from a potential date with a wrecking ball or, worse yet, from unanticipated, massive structural failure that would scuttle any prospects for making the building a downtown asset once again.
Until a developer starts work on the structure -- at least the most serious issues that need addressed -- the building could someday become an expensive liability, with demolition as the only option.
While there remains some unfinished business tied to the eminent domain proceedings that enabled the city to acquire the building, those proverbial loose ends should not be allowed to become insurmountable.
One piece of unfinished business is determination of the compensation that the former owners will receive. As an article in last Friday's Mirror reported, if the two sides cannot agree on a price, a board of review will be brought in to help resolve that issue.
Either side will have the right to appeal the board's ruling to Blair County Court.
Considering the building's condition, especially that of its interior components, hopefully the court would act expeditiously to render a ruling with which both sides could regard as reasonable, under the current circumstances.
It is right to note that, like it or not, a building is worth only as much as a buyer is willing to pay for it.
No doubt there are city residents, even downtown business owners, critical of past and current city leaders' handling of the McCrory's issue, particularly about how long the building's fate has been in limbo.
That is understandable.
However, city leaders past and present have experienced plenty of frustration of their own over the years, seeing their efforts and good intentions fail.
But, now the city is leaping over where it ever has been on making substantial, badly needed headway, and everyone who values the downtown and what it offers -- and could offer, if the McCrory's building were on the city's list of available assets -- needs to take notice.
Mayor Matt Pacifico, who serves on the Redevelopment Authority, was quoted in last Friday's Mirror article, as follows:
"We're in a position where we can really drive the ship on this."
He said the authority's goal would be to pick a developer whose vision for the building aligns with the council's vision for what it would like to see occur.
The specifics of that vision never have been disclosed fully, but having the structure fit with the downtown's ongoing renaissance and rejuvenation efforts is the right path to pursue.
The saga of uncertainty lasted too long, but now it is important that that saga give way to something for which the city can remain proud for many years hence.