For nearly twenty years, an abandoned office building and adjacent retail property sat at a heavily trafficked intersection in Northern Virginia. The buildings were owned by an absentee landlord who had moved to New York and failed to maintain the property. Over time, the structures fell into severe disrepair: windows were broken, birds nested inside leaving droppings throughout the building, walls were covered in spray paint, fixtures had been removed, and the property suffered from leaks, infestations, and other deterioration. Homeless individuals frequently occupied the space, further contributing to the unsafe and unsightly condition.