There are permits needed at every step. Don't know if they have their excavation permits yet, but once they have permits, they can go ahead with that, and once they have their zoning approval and building permits, they can go forward with whichever parts of the development they feel are financially feasible. It would be odd, I agree, to go ahead on something this size, without sales. Mizrahi talks very confidently, and more publicly than most developers.
In regards to what's part of the construction process and what's not, to not consider demolition, clearing the site, and excavation as part of it, is just semantics. Certainly you're not committed to going up yet when you're preparing the way for construction… but that's why we use the word process, and to my mind what leads up to the concrete being poured is part of that.
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