The words, Mall of America, either bring thoughts of joy, or frustration. Or both. This is a place that either attracts worshippers or repels all those who hate the parking and the walking and the walking.
As one of the largest malls on the face of this nation, this behemoth megamall has fascinated shoppers since its opening day in 1992 with its eight acres of skylights, the four hundred events that are held each year and the five hundred and twenty stores (and growing) and now a hotel and residential facilities. . .
With mind-blowing statistics about its size and the number of people who are employed there, one of the most important things that excite the residents of the City of Bloomington is when this tax increment financed (TIF) project’s contract comes to a close in two years, they will start paying their property tax and it will reduce the personal property taxes of Bloomington residents by five percent.
The mall represents about ten percent of the city’s tax base; however twenty six percent of the mall’s property taxes will go into a regional revenue-sharing pool: twenty five percent to the state and sixteen percent to the city of Bloomington. The rest will help ease property tax burdens in the school district and county, splitting the money into several different ways.
Bloomington has been subsidizing the mall with tax dollars since before it opened-primarily with TIF-investing about $160 million into the $1.2 billion project. Because Minnesota does not charge tax on food or clothes, the sale of those items making up about half of what is sold at the mall, and there’s no city sales tax on the other items, one of the few benefits for Bloomington residents has been employment close by.
The city does get admission taxes from the theaters, the amusement park and a few other tenants and also property and lodging taxes from the hotels that have sprung up around the mall, which are roughly one-third of the total of Bloomington’s hotels.
With the axe falling on the ending of the mall’s TIF status, Bloomington officials are already looking for new sources of public funding for the shopping center. Back in 2013, the Legislature authorized up to $250 million in subsidies to help the mall double in size over the next two decades, with more retail, offices and hotels. Last year a 342 room Marriott hotel opened in the mall and mall officials say the expansion could be worth $1.5 billion.
The most interesting question in the minds of many must be, how big is too big?
Evidently there is no question about being too big seeing that even though the Mall of America is the largest mall in the United States with its 4,870,000 sq. ft and five hundred and twenty stores and counting, it doesn’t even make the cut when it comes to malls in Malaysia, Turkey, Thailand, Iran, the Philippines, China and South America, or even our neighbors to the north, Canada with their Edmonton Mall. So far China has the largest mall measuring a whopping 7,100,004 sq. ft. hosting two thousand five hundred stores.
So, be happy Bloomington, your property taxes will be reduced in a few years and if you’re looking for a job, look no further than your own backyard where you can always get work feeding one hundred pounds plus of food to the animals at SEA LIFE, plus the ninety extra pounds on the days the sharks are fed. Talk about job security.
And, to add the whipped cream to the mocha latte of the Mall of America, IKEA is within walking distance of the north entrance-what could be sweeter?
Last Update: Nov 22, 2016 7:19 am CST
