Archive for April, 2010
Will government pensions be the next to go bust?
A financial time bomb is ticking away–mostly unheard by taxpayers, government workers and retirees.
Click here to read the full article in the Star Tribune.
NAIOP’s Nexus Task Force is also studying the fiscal condition of Minnesota Public Pension Funds and its implication for Minnesota’s property taxpayers. See Nexus Notes: Public Pension in Minnesota – A Primer for Taxpayers and Policymakers.
Volunteer with Catalyst – May 15
Have some fun!
Join NAIOP Minnesota’s Community Enhancement Committee to benefit Catalyst Community Partners
West Broadway Spring Kick-Off
Saturday, May 15
9:00 am – 2:00 pm
NAIOP will join together for a couple of hours on a spring Saturday morning to reinvigorate an area along West Broadway in Minneapolis. Opportunities to get involved include clean-up, gardening, painting and more. Groups welcome–bring colleagues, friends or family and help NAIOP rejuvenate a neighborhood. NAIOP participants will work together. Children may participate but must be directly supervised by a parent or guardian and everyone needs to be at least 15 years of age. Music, fun and food for everyone.
Download event flyer
Download list of project needs
Saturday, May 15 – additional details at www.NAIOPMN.org
Projects start at 9:00 am; Celebration from 12:00 – 2:00 pm
Contact Sonja Breyfogle at sonja.breyfogle@northmarq.com or 612-305-2144 to RSVP.
Watch the video below to learn more about the great work of Catalyst Community Partners.
Blackberrys, Google, and Droid, OH MY!
NAIOP Tech Update:
by Andy Kim, EVS, Inc.
Technology is everywhere. There is no question that technology has become an integral part of our lives. For many, it started with AOL and chat rooms in the mid-90s; now it’s men/women wearing a Bluetooth headset as a fashion accessory.
Almost every aspect of business is heavily influenced by technology. It’s not just another tool, but a collaboration of tools that aid you communication, sales, research, productivity, and improving the bottom line.
So, I’m pleased to bring you the first issue of NAIOP’s Business Technology update. In these short articles, you will be presented with information related to the integration of business, real-estate, and technology. Technology encompasses more than just your hardware, it includes software and services. In the upcoming articles, I’ll review and provide information about products and services. I hope this information will help you make better decisions with your purchases and utilization of technology. One caveat, I’m not a technology industry expert, but I’ve always been a tech-junkie. I’ve also managed I/T at my company for the past 10 years. I’ll try to provide the information in a clear and non-biased manner.
In this first issue, we’ll take a look at some of the latest and greatest smart phones. For the purposes of this article, a smartphone is defined as a cell phone with advanced capabilities such as synchronization with your email, calendar, contacts, and web browsing.
So what’s the best smartphone available now? (more…)
Member Question: E-Marketing-Is it effective to send multiple emails consecutively for different properties?
What do you think? Are there best practices for e-marketing properties?
Click the ‘Add Comment’ link below to weigh in.
The Stadium Debate: Is our love of major sports teams helping or hurting the Minnesota economy?
By: Lindsey Reese, Liberty Property Trust
It can be said that Minnesotans love their sports almost as much as they love their three months of summer, but has our love affair blinded us to practicality? A general assumption is that taxpayers in every city across the country tend to pay for their professional sports teams either through special taxes or proceeds from state lotteries, etc. Given the size of Minneapolis, as compared with L.A., Chicago and New York, the fact that we support four major sports teams seems to place a big cost on smaller market. The Metropolitan Council put the Minneapolis population at 2.87 million at the end of 2008, while cities like LA, New York and Chicago all boasted populations of 16, 21 and 9 million respectively in a 2000 demographic census. When you look at these three cities, they also support at least four major sports teams, if not more. So what do our sports teams offer us in exchange? In a word: Identity. (more…)
State view: Legislators: Please listen
By: Michael Norby, Duluth News Tribune
Duluth news tribune commentary cites NAIOP comparative tax study.
“Legislators in St. Paul have seen this data for years, showing the disparity in business climate. But the graph showing tax burdens really struck me this year.”
Study: Minneapolis is among pricier cities for corporate HQs
Minneapolis’ property taxes were the main reason for its relatively high ranking.
A conversation with Dr. Cy Smythe
“I believe that real change in how cities and government bodies operate will come, not because of political will, but because they are out of money. That’s the glimmer of hope in all this – that we are going to run out of money!”
