It is there, with the big empty parking lot, and the commercial vacant building at the west side of the parking lot that has been vacant for years. A nice building. But - Vacant. This screenshot from the Strib report on closings.
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| Full story, this link. |
"The closings will add to a glut of empty retail real estate."
That is Strib's sub-headline. That is the truth.
Just off Highway 10. Easy access because there are no rail tracks, no chance of train delay.
Moribund.
Darren, please take notice.
More than Darren, Ramsey City Council please take notice. Vacant Retail. Not that hard to comprehend. Statewide. Metro-wide.
And, I really cannot blame Darren for sucking twenty-grand a month of tax money out of Ramsey.
If free money were put on a table for you, you'd take it, yes?
So, who is giving our money away - the Big Bang super-hard question going into the New Year.
The commuting mayor and three others, are prime suspects.
There is this, teaching for the hard learners, per Strib reporting:
[...] The closing of yet another big-box retail store will likely prove challenging for Twin Cities real estate professionals trying to fill the empty space. In 2011, a tough economy spurred the closing of several stores throughout the Twin Cities, including Borders, Ultimate Electronics, as well as a Lowe's store in Rogers. A Gander Mountain store is slated to be closed in Maple Grove.
"These stores are typically not easy pieces of real estate to re-tenant," said Dick Grones, principal of Cambridge Commercial Realty in Edina and a longtime retail broker.
[...] In the case of the New Hope Kmart, at 4300 Xylon Av. N., the city was already working with the Florida-based owner of the property to redevelop it and nearby lots into a mini-downtown with shops and restaurants, according to City Manager Kirk McDonald. The Kmart closing could spur those efforts, he said, "although I hate to see people lose their jobs at Kmart."
City officials from White Bear Lake could not be reached Thursday regarding the impending Kmart closing.
Sometimes large retail "boxes" that have been abandoned can be subdivided into "junior boxes," Martin said. These concepts generally span about 15,000 square feet, according to a recent report by the commercial real estate firm Cassidy Turley. The smaller spaces may be occupied by retailers such as Best Buy and Office Max looking to downsize, or others seeking to expand their footprint, such as T.J. Maxx HomeGoods and Trader Joe's.
[...]
[emphasis added] It seems everybody is chasing new retail, even in existing buildings with parking paved - many sites already on the ground, vacant, just waiting. Gander Mountain. Maple Grove.
And the Ramsey town fools with Clown Center, they just push on.
And on. And on. Same old, same old ... Darren's monthly pap.
Tax money comes, tax money goes, sometimes wisely. However ...
Here is a Google Maps screenshot of the Anoka K-Mart site, and its fast-food environs.
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| click the image to enlarge it and read marked streets and places |