Does this sound familiar?

“What seems in retrospect to have been an inexplicable decision, an unacceptable risk, may have been the result of a desire to move forward quickly after years of frustrating delay; perhaps it reflected the certitude that a well connected local developer would act in the best interest of the city.”

From “A City Transformed, 1940 – 1980” by David Schuyler and in reference the commencement of demolition in 1965 in antcipation of Lancaster Square.