I spent some time reading the local coverage and it appears that the lot was purchased by an unnamed mortgage and is now held in a blind trust.
The main purpose of a blind trust is to shield the beneficiary from conflicts of interest issues. A common thing among the political class.
Who owns the mortgage? Somebody in city management is dealing from the bottom of the deck for personal profit.
You think they didn’t realize he was fragile until too late, but I know predators. They suss out the weak instantly.
They’re nice to you because you either don’t appear weak or you don’t have something they want (yet).
The fact that a mortgage is in a blind trust does not necessarily mean that a local politician is holding it. It also does not necessarily mean that the holder has evil intent. And it's an even bigger leap to conclude that "somebody in city management is dealing from the bottom of the deck for personal profit."
It could be true. Could also not be true. We'll have to wait on the facts.