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It's easy to see the closure of a manufacturing facility in your neighborhood as a positive thing. You probably don't utilize the space, and it can sometimes come with truck traffic or sounds and smells that aren't ideal. But now more than ever, we cannot afford to lose the jobs, tax base and vitality those industrial campuses bring to our communities.

Two recent closures of industrial sites in the Twin Cities — WestRock in St. Paul and Graco in Minneapolis — will likely showcase two different directions cities can take when this kind of land becomes available. Both are privately held and in the early stages when it comes to changing ownership and being redeveloped, but both will play important roles in the future of their cities. At the St. Paul Port Authority, we feel strongly that the WestRock site could provide thousands of good-paying jobs and significantly increase its contribution to our city's property tax base with a new industrial owner. Conversations for the Graco site seem to be more around housing, according to initial comments from elected officials.

It's understandable to want to prioritize housing, especially as our state faces a very real shortage. But we've lost a significant amount of industrial land over the last 25 years in the Twin Cities, and the continued loss of that land will be incredibly detrimental to the region. Industrial properties pay an overall higher tax rate, significantly lessening the burden on residential property taxes, which are on the rise in both St. Paul and Minneapolis due to the dwindling property values of downtown office buildings. For example, if you build a $10 million market-rate apartment building in St. Paul, it would generate roughly $200,000 in local property taxes, compared with a $10 million industrial building, which would generate roughly $300,000 in local property taxes, as well as an additional $50,000 in state property taxes. Industrial buildings also use less city services, allowing those tax dollars to pay for important things like affordable housing, parks and community programs.

Industrial facilities also provide quality, good-paying jobs that require little secondary education. And critically in this post-COVID era, these jobs are on-site. People are going to work and heading out into the surrounding neighborhoods to get coffee, lunch or happy hour, or run errands on their way home. That positive impact on local businesses is hugely important for the economic success of our cities.

There are certainly examples of sites where both housing and industrial land coexist — the Heights development that we are leading on St. Paul's Greater East Side being one of them. But redeveloping a former golf course is a different feat than redeveloping existing industrial land (and a topic for an entirely different opinion piece). In fact, the Heights is the largest addition of new industrial land in St. Paul's history, and a great example of how modern-day industrial facilities are being designed to fit into the neighborhood.

Keeping and maximizing industrial land in St. Paul is a priority for the Port Authority. We believe that providing the most jobs and generating the most taxes possible from land that is already zoned for industrial use is one of the best ways to provide structural balance to a city's budget without making homeownership less affordable. We want industrial companies to see St. Paul as a great place to bring their facilities and know that we see their value as neighbors. And we hope that St. Paul residents see that value, too, even if it isn't always obvious.

Todd Hurley is the president and CEO of the St. Paul Port Authority and former CFO and budget director for the city of St. Paul.