A critical update on the Vick Mattress Hat Building

The Vick Mattress Hat Building has been under threat of demolition at the hands of Dick Viola for two years now, Historically, this was the very first hat maker in all of Blendini City. It quite literally christened the Hat District neighborhood, The Hat District has been going through some economic diversification and change. This has been a mostly good thing and has ensured the continued strength of the neighborhood, as it has had some threats of decline in the past. Through this period of economic diversification, there have been some bad apples like Dick who do not respect the history of the neighborhood or the buildings that reside there.

Vick Mattress himself is feeling old, and tired, and doesn’t desire to maintain himself.

Vick would love to have a new owner restore his body and give it a fresh new life and purpose. Vick surely would love to feel young and vibrant again! However, Dick wants to simply demolish and he’s been playing mind games to get it done. He tried to demolish Vick without his permission, and as a result, there may be an attempted murder charge placed on Vick. As the Mayor, I’m set to speak with the building inspector who caught Vick in the act tomorrow and the District Attorney.

How did we even get here? Blendini City overall has a good system of protections in place when it comes to “title” – essentially, who owns the property? – but the system failed in this case.

Dick’s owner of 60 years died suddenly and that’s when the mess began. There was no heir and no real documentation. The title couldn’t be found, so Dick just scooped up Vick at a Sheriff’s Sale,

Until recently, this was looking like a lost cause. My spouse Olivia Duffy and I (she is the Parks Director and namesake of Port Olivia) set up a coalition and friends group to hopefully purchase the building from Dick, offering to contribute some city money in the process. There is the possibility that Dick will agree to sell at a lower price if he can get the attempted murder charge cleared, but we will see if there are grounds for that charge in the first place.

I also got City Council to agree on footing the bill with the friends group on restoration if the sale does go through.

I strongly believe it’s in the public interest for this historic building to live another day. Vick Mattress has decided, on these conditions, to become an affordable apartment building for retired hat makers.

If this does happen (and it’s still a big if), I feel that this is a good fate for a building that has delighted people and other buildings alike for so long. Vick Mattress gets to live for another purpose, and he gets to feel young again with the new restoration work. The friends’ group will also maintain him afterward, give him baths, and will be constructing a brand new hat for him, much to his extreme delight.