Its also long term since freshly planted trees or the like take several years to begin bearing fruit.

Or are we talking holes dug everywhere, plants/ shrubs killed, no grass just bare dirt?  

Additionally, once micron (a large microchip processing plant) is up and running (construction is underway) there are expected to be nearly 50,000 additional jobs created in the immediate areas.

Especially with the microchip plants moving into Central New York State.

Put up a fence or plant some trees to break up/block the view of it. 

I would plant small hedges because they are much cheaper.

One downtown building that recently suffered a gas explosion doesn't constitute the entire metro area, but no matter.

And, if the money is borrowed and you lie on your loan application about that (they will explicitly ask and you will have to explicitly lie if you want the loan) then you're committing loan fraud.If you have to turn right around and sell this property for some reason, I,as the lender of the 20% down, will suffer a 50% loss. 

The amount you can use for closing costs and rate buy downs is limited, so that leaves you with the majority of the credit for "upgrades," like finishing the landscaping, building a fence, installing sod, a sprinkler system, planting trees, buying appliances and installing blinds, etc. 

I’m in a city that really suffers from developers wiping out all the culture and and building expensive housing.