That signals an extraordinarily inefficient use of land.
With land that valuable, and a land value tax/higher property taxes he'd have been run out of business years ago and replaced by one or more economically efficient companies.
Yes, but his statement that the land is worth 10X doesn't have to be true to be effective leverage in negotiation. Perception is everything, and casually dropping a "Eh, I don't really need you", and turning your back on a negotiation is often amazingly effective.
With land that valuable, and a land value tax/higher property taxes he'd have been run out of business years ago and replaced by one or more economically efficient companies.