Box stores have spread across the country with the advance of the mall, offering cities opportunities for income tax and giving consumers more options for ‘one stop shopping’. However as the economy worsens, chains are closing branches, leaving big boxy ghost-buildings behind. Cities are now levying conservation taxes that can be used for demolition as one way to undo big box sprawl.

The trend has started near Milwaukee, where Lowes, Linens 'n’ Things and Walmart have closed branches. Cities there now require retail projects of over 50,000 square feet to pay 20 cents per a foot to a conservation account that can be later spent on demolition. This can add tens of thousands of dollars to project costs, but cities say it is worth it. Many times, Big Box stores are built to the specifications of the business that occupies it. The tax encourages both more careful planning as well as better building design so that the building may be suitable for other businesses should the developing business leave. Cities have also altered contracts to make renting to other businesses easier and requiring developers to finance demolition bonds.

Like a prenuptial agreement, dissenters say the measures deter business. Cities desperate for a tax base are often willing to tforgo the tax, taking more risks to attract biusiness. However the American Planning Association, who encourage the taxes, think that citizens should protect themselves and their economy from planning decisions that only pay off in the short term.

Read more at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Photo by Brave New Films