Thanks to snookums for the inspiration!
The fact that Shinra is looking for a place with great mana to build their new city, and they’ve never considered Mideel for even a reactor.
Mideel? Yeah, I remember that town now…
Mideel (ミディール, Midīru?) is a hot springs town in the southern part of the Planet in Final Fantasy VII, known for being a place where the Lifestream is close to the surface. It is located on a large island south of the eastern continent.
That’s right. That place. I don’t even think Shinra would face any resistance to the Shinra army taking over this town. They might not even have to take it over by force. And this place would be a literal goldmine for them.

Mideel is full of lifestream, but Shinra ignored it. Why? They wasted time-fighting a war in Wutai, and I’m not totally sure where they put the Mako reactor. Why not Mideel?
Reeves Tuesti “in charge of Urban Development at the Shinra Electric Power Company.” I wouldn’t have been surprised if he was responsible for planning since he is “an architect who designed the Mako Reactors”. I bet he surveyed the land and probably calculated it would collapse. And it did. After a series of earthquakes, the land opens up and crumbles into the Lifestream below…