Peel Plaza property purchase strategy

The city has bought several properties to assemble a parcel for the proposed police headquarters construction (now called Peel Plaza). The city bought the synagogue on Carleton Street. I think it's great that the local Jewish community has been able to move to a facility on Leinster Street that better meets their needs. But the synagogue property is not needed for the police station project.

Now that the city owns the synagogue the mayor is calling to dispose of it. Here's what 94.1 FM news has reported on the issue:

[What Does the Future Hold for the Jewish Synagogue]
11:57:08:
The
city will seek public input for the future use of the Jewish Synagogue on
Carelton Street. The city will take over the property at the end of the month
and Mayor Ivan Court says the building should not become the city's
liability--it should go into private hands.
The city will hold public
meetings at the end of January.

Either the mayor or city manager Terry Totten needs to explain to the public what strategy is behind the property purchases. The city is spending lots and buying properties that aren't needed. This strategy seems flawed, and our leaders need to explain to us why this is happening, and revamp the strategy to better spend our money.