By Josh Resenk
Several months back the Leader Herald published a story depicting the commercial building shown (right) and complimenting the owners and builders for improving a property and increasing its value.
We thought at first the front building was to be rehabilitated with the exterior given a major aesthetic redoing with larger windows, a dormered third floor addition and brick work replacing cinderblock on the front.
Then came the big surprise.
A rear addition that increases the property’s square footage dramatically and makes of this property a building almost twice its size from the time the rehabilitation began.
From a tax standpoint, this is a bonanza for the city treasury as the property owner will be paying substantially more in taxes for the privilege of owning the building.
However, that increased property tax bill will be leveraged very nicely by the massive increase in income that will be achieved if the owner rents all the new commercial and or living space now being built.
The value of the building in its new iteration is substantial – at least several million dollars or more.
Then again, the cost of rehabilitating the building and adding on a second building has cost a small fortune.
In the end, Broadway gets a much more pleasing building improving its public face.
The owner is in possession of a major piece of downtown real estate that won’t have a repair for probably 10-15 years.
The city gets more tax money.
Other Broadway building owners will have the incentive to do the same.
That’s called a win, win, win.