Two years ago, in the wake of an early Halloween morning fire on Bainbridge Avenue that destroyed 10 Norwood businesses and deflated an entire neighborhood, there was much talk of renewal — from city agencies, elected officials and the landlord who owned the lot where those businesses once thrived.

“The plan is to get the building back up as quickly as possible,” said Evelyn Jacobson, whose company, West Bronx Stores, owns the Bainbridge Avenue lot.

Obviously, that plan isn’t working out for Jacobson or the rest of the neighborhood. The lot remains empty, walled off by planks of particle board.

For a while, rumors swirled that Jacobson had struck a deal to lease space in what would be a newly-constructed building for some type of retail use. Now, the Norwood News has learned, Jacobson scrapped that idea and is looking to sell the property for a huge chunk of change, perhaps as much as $5 million. Not surprisingly, in a struggling economy, no one is biting.

Meanwhile, the lot sits sadly empty. It’s a shocking void for residents. Like an amputated limb, it inspires phantom pains of loss.

Of course, we don’t know all the circumstances surrounding Jacobson’s apparent inaction. (Not that we haven’t tried to find out. Repeated calls to her office by the Norwood News are usually picked up by a woman who answers politely, takes a message, and then says Jacobson will call back. She never does.)

But we do know that promises were made and then broken, just like the heart of a neighborhood.