Nearly one-fifth of Square storefronts empty: study

Nearly one in five storefronts on Holton’s Town Square are presently empty, according to an independent study of the Square by a Holton banker.

Matt Taylor, senior vice president of Denison State Bank in Holton, said he conducts a semi-annual, informal survey of businesses and occupants around the Square and one block extending each direction from each side of the Square “so we can have a good understanding of what’s going on around the Square,” adding that it’s not an “official” count.

“It’s just an eyeball observation from the street level,” Taylor said of his survey, which was conducted in March. “I don’t claim for it to try to match government records or something the county may have on file, because it’s a very informal observation on my part.”

Most of the commercial storefronts on and around the Square are either “service” or retail, or a combination of both, with some businesses classified as “public,” referring to a form of government service, and one business classified as “manufacturing.”

Taylor’s most recent count, shared with Holton city and Jackson County officials, as well as with the Holton/Jackson County Chamber of Commerce and local news outlets, showed that of the 95 storefronts on the Square — including the Courthouse — 17 of those storefronts, or 17.9 percent, are presently vacant.

“That’s kind of an alarming number, although it’s probably not terribly out of whack with vacant commercial real estate in cities of all sizes, from New York City on down,” Taylor said. “There’s just a lot of commercial space available, and we kind of like to think, well, here in a small town, we try to minimize that.”

According to Taylor’s survey, 41 of the storefronts on and around the Square are service-related, including banks, insurance companies, tax and accounting service companies, businesses related to medicine and health services and event venues.

Retail businesses on and around the Square number 21 in all, including retail shops and restaurants. There are also five businesses on and around the Square that are classified in Taylor’s survey as combination service and retail businesses, including those that sell and repair vehicles, appliances and personal effects; also included in this combination category is the Post Office.

There are also nine “public government” businesses on and around the Square in Taylor’s survey, mainly government offices such as Holton City Hall and the Holton USD 336 district office, along with smaller governing entities such as the Jackson County Health Department and Delaware Watershed Joint District No. 10. Only one manufacturing business, Eubanks Woodworking, is listed in the survey.

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