Is it really clean start? What about the warning of cellars or other holes left behind?
It seems odd that they would not have been able to find a buyer for the town, maybe at $ 1 (still cheaper than dismantling), with the road already "on the horizon" and a functioning airport.
Wouldn't that have been a great place to shoot movies, at least in summer? Or to train for house-to-house combat? Or train rescue dogs or whatnot.