Maybe try this*** (long)

flying belgian · Mar 20, 2019

Yesterday read an article in paper(Mankato, Mn) how the empty big box stores( Sears, Herbergers, Lowes, etc.) are applying to have there real estate taxes lowered. Reason being there valuation is falling every day. That in turn is having the remaining big box applying to lower their valuation and taxes. The city and county are obliging them because they really have no argument against it. So Mankato will have less tax revenue but continue to have a big expense. When those stores came to town city built new 4 and 6 lane streets which now are going to nowhere. Plus all the infrastructure. Those streets still need to be maintained so they will have to raise taxes for everybody else. Plus they built a civic center years ago that the tax payer is supporting because it is not being used. It is empty 60% of the year. They said it is empty because it is not big enough to draw the big names. So what do they do? Spend millions to build it bigger 3 yrs. ago. The new space is empty 80 % of the time so we are going the wrong way.
I told you that so I can tell you this. Yesterday I read that article and today I read an article about a co. in Farabault Mn. who is the biggest aeroponic(spelling) producer of leafy vegetables in the world. They just expanded which gives them that status. I read up on aeroponics and after learning how it's done, a light bulb went off in my head. Re-purpose those big empty buildings for aeroponics. What do you think?

flying belgian · Mar 20, 2019

Also, this is not unique to Mankato. It is happening all over the country. Yes, even in your backyard.

morgan in ar · Mar 20, 2019

I don't know about aeroponics, but Mankato is where the Ingalls went when they needed something from a big city!

BarnyardEngineering · Mar 20, 2019

The owners of those buildings would rather let them sit empty than do something with them. See it all the time around here. Developers put up new commercial space with no intention of ever filling it. It sits there with a "FOR LEASE" sign on it for years and years and years. The rents on these places are outlandish.

There has to be some massive tax loophole involving owning vacant commercial space, otherwise they wouldn't do it.

They can make more money through the tax loopholes than they could having the building occupied by tenant paying lower rent.

Russ from MN · Mar 20, 2019

I would think it will all work out in the end, Bemidji built a big civic center/arena a few years ago, and although it's still being subsidized it's less every year. It's a growing community, the college and Sanford health provide a lot of good paying jobs so there is a lot of building going on. Sure, there are some buildings like Sears and Herberger's that are empty, but your always going to have some of that, and L&M built a big addition over winter.

Greg1959 · Mar 20, 2019

Morgan in ar- LOL, that's exactly what went through mind when I read OP post! LOL

rrlund · Mar 20, 2019

What can I say. Some think we need "tax breaks for the rich" to encourage business to expand. That was what encouraged all those building to be built in the first place,they were depreciable assets to be written off. Now that they're depreciated out,the rich need more tax breaks so save them from paying property taxes. This is what some of you preach in favor of every day.

old · Mar 20, 2019

I live in Mankato MN many, many years ago. as in over say 60 years ago.

paul · Mar 20, 2019

Cool, I live 3/4 of the way the Ingalls traveled to get to Mankato.

Paul

Mike M · Mar 20, 2019

I see that here in Wooster Ohio. Lot of empty buildings. Then when a store did want to come to town a Meijer grocery they would not let them come ? They were not even asking for any tax breaks or hand outs.

paul · Mar 20, 2019

I was reading that thinking we should petition to get lower taxes on farm land with the dropping crop values from 2006.

You took a different turn!

Paul

paul · Mar 20, 2019

Russ, if you look at your examples both college and health care are extremely subsidized, govt supported institutions. You have tax money supported by tax money, I?m not sure that is actually sustainable either. It is not growing money, it is govt directed.

Mankato has really taken it hard of late, they have lost some very big retail in a few short years. The current crop of college kids have some issues, but they are far less materialistic which is a good thing, but it is terribly hard on the mall and big box stores.

Paul

JMS/.MN · Mar 20, 2019

That reminds me of an old cartoon...two guys standing in front of a big, new building, with the label "ACME MFG" over the door. One fellow says to the other, "Well, what will we make?"

oldtanker · Mar 20, 2019

(quoted from post at 11:07:31 03/20/19) What can I say. Some think we need "tax breaks for the rich" to encourage business to expand. That was what encouraged all those building to be built in the first place,they were depreciable assets to be written off. Now that they're depreciated out,the rich need more tax breaks so save them from paying property taxes. This is what some of you preach in favor of every day.

So you tax the snot out of them and when they are broke then what? Who ya going to tax then?

Look back. When taxes on the rich were so high? No one actually paid those rates. There were so many loopholes that most of the wealthy paid 15% or less. Back in those days the tax burden really was on the middle class. Tax em too much and they leave. To the point that CA is trying to figure out a tax on the rich who move out of CA because of the taxes. NY is auditing rich people moving in a move that can only be classed as profiling. Profiling because if you are poor or middle class leaving NY that doesn't trigger an audit. France tried a 70% tax on the wealthy a few years ago and the wealthy started renouncing their citizenship and moving out of France.

The stores that have closed did it to themselves. Sears? The continued to pay outlandish leases the the mail order folks themselves completely missed the boat for online sales. I'm really surprised that Herburger's lasted as long as they did. Last 10 or so years they were open the people I knew who shopped there only bought off the sale racks.

I don't see much if any commercial space construction going on now. So people are not building stuff as a tax dodge. If so they would still be building.

Rick

Traditional Farmer · Mar 20, 2019

Seems like areas of the country are one of two extremes,loosing people and declining or things are going strong and with people comimg into the area.Where I'm located building is booming,my step son has a pretty good size company with 7 crews they clear lots dig basements,any type of earthwork he's covered up with work going 7 days a week.Housing and other buildings going up all over.
Many people retire here,very reasonable taxes,good climate,great medical services in the area,people already here welcome and are nice to newcomers.An area or town is what the citizens of the place make it.

Traditional Farmer · Mar 20, 2019

Lower taxes breing people in for sure.Looks like Amazon has settled on Arlington Co.VA after it pulled out of the NYC deal.Bring it on and they still picked the County in VA with the highest property values but its across the river from DC so maybe that meant something to them.

Geo-TH,In · Mar 20, 2019

Rick,
Why give rich tax breaks to rich people in the first place? Lets give tax breaks to the poor. Wait, poor
people don't pay taxes. Poor people don't create jobs or build businesses. Most poor people want tax
money to spend.

Never mind. Let's talk about tractors instead of solving the world's problems.

showcrop · Mar 20, 2019

One of these cases came before the select board of my small town when I was a member. This fellow had bought a commercial property that had been a restaurant and he rented it out to some people who reopened it as a restaurant. After a couple years it closed up when the economy nosedived. After a couple more years he came looking for relief, and our evaluation contractor advised use to reduce his billing simply because the property value had dropped dramatically. Property values are set on the value of the property, which is based on what it could sell for. Plain and simple similar properties were selling for a lot less.

jm. · Mar 20, 2019

"No commercial construction" You need to drive thru NASHVILLE TENN> During the past flood barges could not get sand in ,, concrete went to over 200 dollars a yard and they still could not keep enough truck trucking the sand in. Guess it all depend on what part of the country but new home, apartment ,hotels and yes retail space is going crazy. Have a good friend that owns a redi-mix plant there and cannot hire enough drivers to keep 40 + trucks running ever day.

db4600 · Mar 20, 2019

Working in St Peter I get to Mankato weekly for items and I was surprised at the amount of empty retail on the east side. That corner was dealt a bum hand in all that looked good 20 years ago. Lowe?s surprised me, but the majority of the rest are all victims of the changing face of retail. The west side seems to be a bit more sparse with retail and I can?t help to think in the case of Lowe?s they might have done better away from Menard?s, Mill?s, and Home Depot, but that would also put them on your doorstep which would cause the chickens to quit laying. There is a lot of good space sitting idle and Pa would have said something about how many hay bales we could stack in there. Mankato is a good city and should be a draw for businesses to fill that space. We are seeing a move to the malls attracting service oriented renters versus retail. I?ve seen it in Marshall, Hutchinson, Willmar, and St. Cloud. I recall many areas around St. Cloud and the Metro that we said ? why did they build way out there? that are no longer out there. Time will heal this, but you are right. Aquaculture or maybe hydroponic tomatoes might work.

Traditional Farmer · Mar 21, 2019

Seems to be two extremes metro areas that are booming and other declining areas.My opinion is young people are leaving rural and small towns in record numbers,low paying dead end jobs don't appeal to them.The internet has opened up the World to young people and they want to join in the action not go frog gigging just the way it is.And rural America has changed now so called country living is something like on a 1000 acre farm 5 acres for a house and farm buildings surrounded by 995 acres of corn.To me that ain't what country living is all about wouldn't give 2 cents for it.

JMOR · Mar 21, 2019

(quoted from post at 09:05:14 03/21/19) Seems to be two extremes metro areas that are booming and other declining areas.My opinion is young people are leaving rural and small towns in record numbers,low paying dead end jobs don't appeal to them.The internet has opened up the World to young people and they want to join in the action not go frog gigging just the way it is.And rural America has changed now so called country living is something like on a 1000 acre farm 5 acres for a house and farm buildings surrounded by 995 acres of corn.To me that ain't what country living is all about wouldn't give 2 cents for it.

'll give 2 cents for a 1000 acres, anywhere! :lol:

Rich'sToys · Mar 21, 2019

(quoted from post at 22:03:24 03/20/19) Working in St Peter I get to Mankato weekly for items and I was surprised at the amount of empty retail on the east side. That corner was dealt a bum hand in all that looked good 20 years ago. Lowe?s surprised me, but the majority of the rest are all victims of the changing face of retail. The west side seems to be a bit more sparse with retail and I can?t help to think in the case of Lowe?s they might have done better away from Menard?s, Mill?s, and Home Depot, but that would also put them on your doorstep which would cause the chickens to quit laying. There is a lot of good space sitting idle and Pa would have said something about how many hay bales we could stack in there. Mankato is a good city and should be a draw for businesses to fill that space. We are seeing a move to the malls attracting service oriented renters versus retail. I've seen it in Marshall, Hutchinson, Willmar, and St. Cloud.

Some of that is happening in Mankato also. The Madison East Mall used to be on the edge of town and was THE place to go. Now the Mankato Clinic and Mayo Health Systems have taken over about 90% of it.

Click to expand...

Traditional Farmer · Mar 21, 2019

Not if I had to live there.

55 50 Ron · Mar 22, 2019

Are you referring to the "broadcast" Ingalls?

Maybe try this*** (long)

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