Have any of you visited the new "Furniture Store" to shop for furniture? What has happened to this city? Have we lowered our standards and expectations to the point we think this business opening here in the middle of the city is a good thing?

This huge building that could have easily housed any business, was leased to what appears to be a perpetual yard sale. There is no organization, or tasteful layout of "furniture" displays. It looks like a hub of overstocked or discontinued items all tossed under one roof.

What reputable furniture store do you know of offers dozens and dozens of outdoor chaise lounges and then lists all of that mess on local Facebook sale pages? How many furniture stores have you been to that stock dog crates and dog fencing and puts it out on what was supposed to be a showroom floor, for display?

Remember back when this business was moving in and "investing in the city" by setting up shop here, we were sold the idea with statements like "a furniture store of this size will draw shoppers from surrounding towns and cities, along with those shoppers come their spending dollars". How much of a benefit this store would be to the city by being such a draw it would benefit all other businesses with incoming customers to shop and eat while they are here to purchase furniture?

If I would make the drive to another town to shop for furniture and walk in and find what this place has to offer, with the way it looks full of homemade hand written signs and dog crates and dog pens proudly on display, appearing more like an indoor yard sale, I would turn around and walk right back out the door. This place with the way it looks inside, the way the little bit of stock they do have is poorly displayed, is a huge stretch from an actual furniture store. This place turned out to be such a disappointment and I don't understand why people are so accepting of this embarrassing excuse of a "huge furniture store" and not speaking out about it. Is it silence due to fear or is it just really low expectations for the city?

Another example of a bait and switch in the city are the "Art Lofts" downtown in the old YMCA. We were sold on this wonderful idea where the building was going under renovations to create several loft apartments that would house local artists, where their art would be proudly displayed in a new modern gallery, along with a possible quaint cafe and coffee shop etc.

Well folks, here we are a few years down the road and the lofts did happen, but they failed to mention the lofts would be low-rent or subsidized units with a top rental lease of $750 per month, with the average rent being just $525 per month. Just exactly how did they believe this demographic of people would benefit the city or the area they are struggling to rebuild and rebrand?

With the way the picture was painted, and the idea or vision explained, it was a no brainer, who wouldn't want a historic building renovated to house established artists, struggling artists, young and old coming and going with art supplies and paintings, displaying their craft and talent for all to see outside of the building?

Now we see anything but. We see a steady stream of people struggling to find a parking space, the city trying to remedy this problem with possible fines, all because the new tenants can't follow the rules. Where is the new gallery, or the quaint cafe or coffee shop? While on the subject, where the hell are all the artists?

Again, another case of low expectations for the city, the bar lowered and the "It's just Granite City" so we should be thankful for all of the above, even though both of these situations fell horribly short of the vision we were sold on.

What we expected, and what we received are miles apart.