Traveling down the main artery of Irlo Bronson Highway in Osceola County, and through St.Cloud the corridor which connects Disney to the west and Melbourne to the east one cannot help but notice as you drive through this bedroom community, the number of small businesses which have closed. A sign of the times?  A product of higher property taxes?  A toxic combination of both? Perhaps.

There was a time when this small city of St. Cloud who motto is "A City Celebrating small town living" offered many residents the opportunity to open their own small business to better serve the community. We had a hardware store, scads of restaurants, a wall paper store, a furniture store in the heart of the downtown district, a paint store, feed stores, pet stores, nail salons, hair dressers, loads of banks, supermarkets, and a few bars here and there.

The commercialization on Irlo Bronson Highway, was a result of urban sprawl.  As Kissimmee developed, east of Disney, the development spread eastward stretching into sleepy St. Cloud, once a retirement community primarily.  Major restaurants began popping up, and eventually a Home Depot, and Walmart took root. Great for the people who live..bad for the small business owner who could not compete against them.

But with the addition of all this new commerce what was lost was the small business owners niche. As with many small towns, commericalization and the opportunity to get whatever you need at Walmart, brought hard times to the business owners struggling for their market share of business.

Slowly, they disappeared.  Even the Chamber of Commerce could not save them. Rising property taxes on comemrcial land, drive up the cost of rents and eventually pushed many of the small business owners to the brink of extinction.  

There are more for rent signs on the main corridor now than ever before. 

More Businesses Simply Close Their Doors Than are Sold. 

Noticably absent are Business Brokers.  There are many Realtors® and just about every franchised Real Estate chain is represented.  By on the QT are the businesses looking for new blood in a stagnate economy.  Perhaps owners are fearful word willget out they are for sale?

Fred's Auction is a thriving business. Established over 43 years ago it is a three generation auction house. Fred makes no bones his building is for sale. As a matter of fact he has a huge sign planted right on the highway-it hasn't hurt his business one bit.  Fred's is a tradition in St Cloud. Every Friday night cars jam packed into his parking lot for a chance to bid on everything you can imagine. What ever your need, eventually Fred's will have it.  The longevity of this business is testimony that a small business can succeed in St. Cloud. It has a niche. It also has a heavty price tag at 1.8 million dollars.

What if...

Businesses for sale were better represented?  Perhaps it would attract more perspective buyers to our area?  Even buyers from foreign markets?  The lack of proper packaging and promotion appears to be underserved in our community of St. Cloud, Florida.

If we made information more readily available we may see less empty shops and more new families coming into the area.  Revitization is the key to growth.  What St. Cloud needs is an image enhancement.

If Property Tax relief on commercial property was available, it may be the just the jump start that would push St. Cloud back on track to further growth.