Does Density Pay?

Does having more density in a city means more people to pay property taxes, and thus, less of a tax burden on residents? Sam Newberg and a colleague run the numbers.

1 minute read

May 7, 2011, 1:00 PM PDT

By Tim Halbur


Newberg's colleague is a good person to answer that question: He is David Frank, the new director of transit oriented development for the city of Minneapolis. Frank concludes that, using a real-world example in Minneapolis, yes:

"...a 100-unit apartment project adds .04% to the city's tax collections, reducing the tax burden on the rest of us. That may seem like a small number, but add several hundred units at each of the light rail station areas and in other popular locations like downtown and uptown, and suddenly the city is bringing in significantly more revenue."

Friday, May 6, 2011 in Joe Urban

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