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Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
More and more apartments on the way; is this necessary?
Jul. 12—Dear Answer Man: It seems like every week, the Post Bulletin publishes a story of a proposal to build a new apartment building in Rochester. It is hard to believe that the need for more apartments is that great. I would like to know the occupancy rate for all existing apartment units as an aggregate in each of these categories: senior independent living (places such as Shorewood, Madonna Towers, etc.); low-income senior independent living; low-income general apartments; market-rate apartments; and high-end units. — Doubting Dianne. Dear Dianne, Answer Man hasn't been handed a research project this big since he finished that last underwater basket-weaving class to graduate from college. Breaking it down like you've asked is something that the county does. You can read the 2020 "Comprehensive Housing Needs Analysis for Olmsted County, Minnesota," and in the near future (maybe a couple of weeks ... or less), we'll report on the 2025 update to this study, which is expected. That said, the 2020 report showed pretty much every category with 90% occupancy or higher. Another study, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's "Comprehensive Housing Market Analysis" for Rochester, published in 2022, has more of the same. Some of the key takeaways: * From 2000 to 2020, the number of households has grown from about 71,000 to 92,000, but the percentage of ownership has dropped from 78% to 73.5%. * The vacancy rate (in all apartment sectors) by the second quarter of 2022 had dropped to 4%. * The report's three-year forecast period (bringing us up to 2025) estimated a need for 1,275 new apartment units. * At that time, only 850 were permitted. That last point would be why we so often report that Rochester is in dire need of more apartments. And the demand isn't letting up. Destination Medical Center is a driving force behind Rochester's continued population growth. For three straight U.S. censuses — 1990, 2000 and 2010 — Rochester grew by more than 20% per decade. The 2020 census saw "only" 13.7% growth, but the overall numbers were nearly 15,000 people added. I'd bet a dollar that the 2030 census will see another 15,000 new residents (or more) in Rochester. And that's just Rochester. Byron, Kasson, Pine Island, Stewartville — pretty much every town within 15 miles of Rochester — saw growth in the last census, and each continues to grow. Want proof? Awesome business reporter Jeff Kiger wrote how Black Swan Living recently opened the 65-unit Stone Haven Apartments in Byron. Within a few weeks, it was 70% rented. That was two weeks ago. Another bet? I'd wager the complex is well into the 80% or 90% range by now. Those apartments are — I hate to throw the "upscale" label around, but — really nice. Individual garages. Across the street from a grocery store. Ten minutes from Rochester. So, why aren't people just living in houses? Again, we go to another reporter extraordinaire, Matt Stolle. Part of the increased popularity of apartments is affordability. As Matt wrote in March 2025, "In 2014, the median home price in Rochester was $173,692. By 2024, it had jumped to $319,271 — an 84% increase." The other reason is sort of adjacent to that price information and what you've asked about the different categories. Seniors who want to avoid all the yard and snow maintenance love the idea of independent living (Shorewood, etc.). People just starting out need a place they can afford, even on a working-class salary, and sometimes that's not the traditional single-family home. Hence, the demand for market-rate apartments. Folks who aren't in the market to buy but come to Rochester with a high-paying job seek out those places like The Berkman or Riverwalk apartments. Sadly, those places don't advertise their vacancy rates. In fact, as apartment companies are privately owned, they don't give daily or monthly updates on the availability of units. That said, that HUD analysis noted that while the number of units in Rochester is increasing, so is the average rental price. That economics class I took at good old Answer Man University taught me that if supply is going up, but the price (a function of demand) is also rising, then you don't have enough of what people want to buy yet. When prices start to level off, well, that will be an indicator that we've reached the point to stop building. So plan to read more about new apartment developments. It's the way of the future in Rochester. Got a query? Answer Man will get the facts, rent-free. Send questions to Answer Man at answerman@
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why isn't Rochester's skyline a bit more impressive?
May 31—Dear Answer Man: Why can't Rochester encourage at least some developers to think tall? Verticality shows we have arrived, that we are a place to live and work. Well-designed and architecturally interesting towers can be important landmarks, giving Rochester its own unique skyline and character. Can Rochester get something that truly stands out among its dull downtown buildings? — Disappointed Dan. Dear Disappointed, It seems like you're asking for two things: height and pizzazz. Preferably in the same building. Think New York City's Empire State Building or the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco, I assume. Well, don't expect something akin to the Burj Khalifa to be built on the old Post Bulletin site. That said, whatever replaces the old Post Bulletin building can only be an improvement. Overall, I think you're being a bit hard on the Med City. First, many of our larger buildings are somewhat utilitarian. The Gonda Building, for example, is a clinical building meant for patient care. That said, considering the purpose, I think it's quite lovely. Want more evidence of a quality skyline? The Plummer Building comes with bona fide 1920s Art Deco style. Broadway Plaza tops off at 29 stories tall. The space-age Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Building is both energy efficient and stylistically forward. But for a bit more context, I reached out to Chris Osmundson, director at Onward Investors, to discuss why tall buildings are not a priority in Rochester. Osmundson said it all comes down to the differences between Type III and Type I construction. Type III — "lumber typically over a pre-cast concrete podium" — can only be built up to 75 feet, up to seven stories. Just one more story would require a different, and much more expensive, construction type. Type I — post-tension concrete — can be build taller, but at a 35% increase in costs per floor. Examples of Type I construction in Rochester would be The Berkman. And while that building got built at 11 stories, it also came with $10.5 million in tax-increment financing funding. Then there's the matter of rents. No one is probably going to pay the rents that would make such a tall building profitable — especially at today's construction prices — in Rochester. "The taller projects that are working to get done or have gotten done in Rochester are trophy assets trying to command rents that they can only get from a small percentage of the population, and also need significant subsidy," Osmundson said. So, dream all you like about a one-third scale model of the Taipei 101 tower (good luck building something so tall and heavy atop our karst geology) in downtown Rochester, but my guess is nothing in the next 10 years will top Broadway Plaza. And, considering how I feel about Rochester's current skyline, Answer Man is OK with that. Send questions to Answer Man at answerman@ .
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
As incoming superintendent of Byron Public Schools, Nate Walbruch says he plans to stay for the 'long-term'
May 4—BYRON, Minn. — Despite the challenges facing the district, Nate Walbruch is confident he can help Byron Public Schools regain its footing as he gets ready to take the helm as the incoming superintendent — a role he plans to hold for the foreseeable future. Walbruch accepted the position in April and will officially step into the role in July. He will have to hit the ground running as the district prepares to hold another referendum to ask residents to increase their tax contribution with an operating levy, while also helping to rebuild trust between the district and the community it serves. It will be a situation similar to one he's already experienced at the district he currently leads: Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted west of the Twin Cities. "When I arrived at HLWW, the district found itself in some very difficult financial situations," Walbruch said. "I felt like Byron really matched the kind of situation that I could bring something to." In November, Byron voters rejected a request for more funding for the school system, leaving district leaders with the task of having to make more than $1 million in budget cuts. It also left the district with the renewed task of convincing voters that investing in the school system is the right decision and that they can trust the district leaders who are proposing it. During his final interview, the Byron School Board asked Walbruch what his plan would be for another referendum. In response, he spent 20 minutes talking about how he would help the district navigate the process. "I can appreciate that the public has a lot of questions about the state of the district," Walbruch told the Post Bulletin. "Job one is going to be working with the community leadership and community members to reestablish trust." The Byron School Board offered him the role after an extended discussion and a split vote about whether he was the right candidate for the position. Byron's current superintendent, Mike Neubeck, announced in December that he would resign in June. The School Board spent part of that discussion on rumors that had spread about Walbruch — including those in an anonymous email sent to the district that the board members found to be unsubstantiated. "There was nothing to those accusations in the email," School Board member Alisha Eiken said during the discussion about whether to offer Walbruch the position. Board member Kelli Crary commented on the situation as well, pointing out the broader context in which it was rooted. "I think it's noteworthy as well that a lot of the allegations are at a specific school that happened to be during COVID," she said. "I think a lot of schools had issues during COVID." An independent source outside the Byron School Board also confirmed to the Post Bulletin that the accusations in the email submitted to the school board were unfounded. Another part of the board's discussion was about whether Walbruch would be with the district long enough to make a difference. Walbruch has been the superintendent of Howard Lake Waverly-Winsted since 2023. Prior to that, he was the principal of Rochester's Century High School from 2021-23, and the principal of Plainview-Elgin-Millville High School from 2016-21. Minnesota law requires school districts to renegotiate contracts with their superintendents every three years, and the relatively high turnover rate of superintendents is not uncommon. Originally from Rochester and a graduate of Mayo High School, the role in Byron will bring Walbruch closer to home. In addition to Byron, he also had interviewed for the role of superintendent at the neighboring district of Kasson-Mantorville. Walbruch's current district has a student population of 1,312, Byron Public Schools has a student population of 2,342. He described Byron as being "big enough to have the flexibility to do some unique things" while also being small enough that he can know "every staff member and a lot of the students." "My intent for Byron is to stay there for the long-term," Walbruch told the Post Bulletin. "I want to not only help guide the district through its current struggles and put it on stable footing, but also help it make a plan for what comes next."
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Two Post Bulletin reporters receive AHCJ fellowship, embark on firearm violence reporting project
Apr. 24—ROCHESTER — The Association of Health Care Journalists has chosen Post Bulletin reporters Dené K. Dryden and Olivia Estright as 2025 Firearm Violence Reporting Fellows. The fellowship, sponsored by The Joyce Foundation, provides resources, mentorship and financial support to a handful of journalists in the Great Lakes region as they embark on monthslong reporting projects focused on gun violence. Dryden and Estright are two of five journalists in the fellowship's inaugural class. Through this fellowship, Dryden and Estright will produce stories that measure the impact of firearm injuries and deaths among children in Southeast Minnesota and across the state. Dryden is the Post Bulletin's health reporter. She has worked at the Post Bulletin since August 2022 and has been an AHCJ member since March 2023. Estright is the Post Bulletin's public safety reporter. She joined the Post Bulletin newsroom in June 2024. Have you or someone you know been directly affected by a child's death or injury due to a firearm? Are you a Minnesotan who is deeply involved in gun safety advocacy? Do you provide services, including medical care, for those who have been physically or mentally harmed by gun violence? We want to hear from you. Fill out this Google Form to get in touch.
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
EDITORIAL: A positive step to help promote small, family-owned farms
Apr. 19—Some pictures really are worth 1,000 words. For example, we'd point to a photograph taken April 7 by former Post Bulletin reporter Noah Fish, who now works for Agweek. The photo (you can it find online easily enough) shows Tony Lent and Allie Kuppenbender on their farm in Mazeppa. Also in the photo are the couple's children, Otto, 4, and Aurora, 6 months. If you want to believe that family farming has a future in Minnesota, then this photo gives you reason for hope — but this family, like a lot of other young farmers, needs some help. Lent and Kuppenbender don't plant hundreds of acres of corn and soybeans. They don't milk 500 cows. They don't have containment buildings filled with hogs or feedlots packed with steers. Their farm, Bleed Heart Floral Farm & Design, operates on just 14 acres. They derive the bulk of their family's income from just 2 acres, on which they grow a variety of flowers. They sell cut flowers wholesale, provide arrangements for weddings and other social events, and also offer a subscription-based service of fresh, seasonal bouquets. These young farmers battle many of the same elements that crop farmers face, including unpredictable weather, weeds, insects and other pests, but they lack some of the built-in advantages that bigger, more conventional agricultural operations enjoy. Sen. Steve Drazkowski, a Republican from Mazeppa, and Sen. Aric Putnam, a DFLer from St. Cloud, are teaming up to help level the playing field for farmers like Lent and Kuppenbender. They have co-authored a bill that would qualify flower farms for agricultural classification. Why is such a change needed? Currently, Minnesota's tax code doesn't consider cut flowers as an agricultural product along the lines of soybeans, poultry or even tree seedlings. This means Lent and Kuppenbender pay property taxes on their farmland at the much-higher residential rate, and the process of erecting even basic farm buildings is more permit-burdened and costly than it would be for a turkey farmer who needs a new pole shed. The mere fact that a Republican and a DFLer have united in an effort to update the tax code is strong proof that this change is needed. Bipartisanship in St. Paul is only slightly more common than an orchid blooming outdoors at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in January, so Drazkowski and Putnam deserve full credit for reaching across the partisan divide in an effort to help flower farmers. We urge other legislators in our region to join this effort. Would this classification change have a profound, immediate impact on Minnesota's economy? Probably not. Fewer than 300 floriculture farms operate in Minnesota right now, including 10 in Olmsted County, seven in Goodhue County and 19 in Wabasha County. About 80 percent of the cut flowers sold in the U.S. are imported from other nations, and those imports include the relatively few flower varieties that are easily grown, ship well and have a comparatively long shelf life. But just as the "know your food" movement has gained steam, so too has the market for locally produced flowers. More acres in the U.S. are converted to flower production every year, and local growers can offer more delicate, seasonal, region-specific flowers. They can create bouquets and centerpieces that simply can't be found at a supermarket or a major floral chain. Such flowers might be more expensive than blooms harvested in Mexico (tariffs could change that), but the ever-increasing popularity of farmers markets is ample proof that plenty of people are willing to pay a premium for locally-produced agricultural products. We see this trend as an opportunity for young Minnesotans who want to get their hands dirty. Between 2017 and 2022, Minnesota lost 3,300 farm operations. The land involved didn't vanish, of course — it came under new ownership and/or operators. In that same time, the number of farm operations that worked at least 2,000 acres grew by 21 percent. When agricultural acres change hands, newcomers to farming are largely shut out of the market by the high price of land and equipment. Even renting farmland is difficult, because large operations can pay rates that aspiring newcomers can't match. So, if a young couple doesn't inherit 500 acres and a tractor, they face a difficult path to become conventional crop-and-livestock farmers. But there is another path, and that's the one being followed at Bleeding Heart Farm. Lent and Kuppender are living proof that small operations, even less than 10 acres, can survive and potentially thrive by growing labor-intensive, high-value products that they market and sell locally. Young people who want to create careers in farming will have a tough time buying 500 acres — but five acres is doable. Minnesota should do everything possible to encourage such farms. That's not to say we oppose what's happening on Minnesota's vast agricultural landscape. Large farm operations are very adept and efficient producers of meat, livestock feed and the ethanol that fuels our vehicles. Although we look back with some nostalgia at the days when a 160-acre crop-and-livestock farm could support a family of four, those days are gone — and our state's farmland has never been as productive as it is today. But we like the idea that many of the parcels now considered "hobby farms" or "rural acreages" could soon become viable micro-farms that produce organic vegetables, specialty meats and Minnesota-grown flowers that will make beautiful centerpieces for Easter feasts. And if kids like Otto and Aurora grow up on the farm and decide to follow in Mom's and Dad's footsteps, so much the better.
