Relative to what? A lightly used gas station, some empty lots and a few houses?Empty retail/street level means fewer eyes on the street and more crime/vandalism.
People who want places to live? Hiawatha (until/unless it gets replaced) will always be pedestrian hostile, but adding people who can walk to the Cub and other businesses is how you make things less pedestrian hostile, and, in general, newer infrastructure is better than old.I'm trying to understand what is good about this level of density who's benefitting from it?