A stop-work order issued nearly a month ago on the Three Crowns property on busy downtown West Venice Avenue has local merchants scratching their heads, wondering when the building rehabilitation will resume.

A separate walkway has been constructed, allowing pedestrians to bypass the construction site. But that’s not what’s happening, exactly. While locals traverse the site easily, business owners say they witness a steady stream of tourists who walk up to the construction site, look at it, then turn around, leaving a handful of businesses and restaurants west of the site in disbelief.