Thread by @dbrauer

🧵 Are Uptown storefronts standing vacant because property taxes prevent landlords from cutting rents? That’s the reason an Uptown property owner cited in a recent TCB Mag story. But is it true? There wasn’t any vetting in the story (); let’s do that now! tcbmag.com/how-long-can-u…

2/ The story features Jeff Herman, who owns the old Columbia Sportswear building (3016 Hennepin) & the old Apple Store (3018). 3016 pays $6.28 a square foot & is rented to a salon. 3018 - 9,942-sq-ft 3018 & vacant - pays $6.50/sqft. Rented or not, nothing pays $10/square.

3/ But remember, Herman said “last year.” However, last year the Apple Store building paid $7.57 a square foot.

4/ These things are easily checked, yet the (pro-) business media too often spoon-feeds quotes from favored sources to impressionable readers (who also read the claims in aggregating local media that also don’t fact-check). That said, I’d like to add my own caveats/context:

5/ First, Herman DID pay $10/sqft at the Apple Store … in fact $11.21 … back when it was the Apple Store THREE YEARS AGO. But Council Member Goodman’s point is those days are over, and rent cuts are needed. Herman uses exaggerated data to argue he can’t.

6/ That said, property taxes today ARE above the $5/square foot rent Goodman suggests. And it’s reasonable to assume Herman’s property taxes would go up if the Apple Store got a new tenant - though his occupied building next door suggests rent wouldn’t be anywhere near $10.

7/ You may ask, “If Uptown remains distressed, wouldn’t property values go down?” YES. In fact, the former Apple Store’s assessed value will drop from $1.945m to $1.863m this year. Whether that translates to lower property taxes remains to be seen.

8/ You might be interested in a few other Uptown landmarks! The old & persistently vacant Victoria’s Secret/Gap space at 3000 Hennepin pays just THREE DOLLARS AND TWENTY-NINE CENTS per square foot - below Goodman’s suggested rental rate. And the old Urban Outfitters pays ~$4.70.

9/ That’s it for the morning fact-check - I’m sure there are things I missed or need more context, feel free to reply with those as you always do. And remember, it’s harder to rent your space if you’re shit-talking your area!