Should I Sell this Lot I bought in 2019?

[Rob Bianco]

I bought a $35k lot in a great part of town that was zoned to build a duplex in Fall 2019. Fast forward 18 months and now lumber has tripled and the $150k I had budgeted to build won't be enough. I'll actually need $275k to get the project done and the guy I had hired walked off the project during the beginning of COVID and basically isn't coming back because he's so busy with more lucrative business.

At this point, I'm not sure if it's worth it to sell at a loss ($40k loss), or wait until lumber prices come back to 2018-2019 levels and just pay Property Tax on the land until then, or just spend the extra $100k to get the duplex built with a different builder and call it a day .... 

I had convinced myself last week to put it on MLS and sell but someone close to me said there's nothing else to buy right now and I'm better off just playing the long game until I can afford to build on the lot. In the meantime, I have saved enough to buy my next rental and would much rather invest in cash-flowing opportunities than sinking my money into this project that doesn't seem to be going anywhere but I figured I would ask the internet it's opinion... What do I do with this lot?