The corner of 47^th Street and Martin Luther King Blvd. has underwent major change in the past 10 years. A place where many locals once claimed “if you stood at the corner of 47^th and South Parkway for a single hour, you were bound to see about everyone you wanted to see,” had become an area where no one was seen and few people wanted to be seen. (Travis, 1991, 45) But new initiatives for economic growth put in place by the city and Alderman Tillman, with help from Federal Redevelopment Grants, have changed the face of this particular intersection more than any across the landscape of the once thriving Black Metropolis. Starting in 1998 signs were installed on streets posts marking the areas as the “Blues District”. A year later the city notified many of the business in area they would be purchased by the city under eminent domain. Various buildings and businesses have been bought and other continue to wait for their fate. At that time the city owned nearly 800 pieces of land in the Grand Boulevard and Douglas communities. Much of this land is on hold for development. With over 20 percent of city owned delinquent property in this area redevelopment would greatly benefit their financial purses. (Quintanilla 1994) Tillman claimed she was protecting the community against large real estate land grabs in light of the Mid-South’s recommendations and has since eased the holds on some of the land. Yet some opponents question the motives of Tillman and the city in keeping this land locked from purchase.