Amsterdam is about to lose its famous red-light district of "storefront" prostitution. Last week one of the main entrepreneurs in the city's perfectly legal sex industry cashed in, selling his properties in the district. The buyer, for $35 million, was a not-for-profit organization backed by the city of Amsterdam. The plan is to convert the buildings in which prostitutes pose in the windows into apartments and more conventional commercial space.
From a strictly entrepreneurial point of view, this is not a good investment. The buyers estimate that the value of the properties may fall by $21 million.
