By the Closer Look Inspectors team · Facts checked October 2026 against the sources listed below · About our inspectors
For an owner or lender in Delano, a commercial property inspection answers how a building has weathered, whether it is an 1880s brick block or a newer industrial building. Downtown sits on the Crow River, and the National Weather Service notes that flood walls may go up on both sides of Bridge Avenue as the river rises.
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Commercial buildings in and around Delano
Brick buildings in downtown Delano
Delano was incorporated in 1876 and was established on the Crow River. Two buildings from the 1880s are in the National Park Service's National Register records.
The Eagle newspaper building at 300 Railroad Avenue East is described in a 1978 inventory form as a composite of three two-story brick structures joined by party walls. It was built of local red brick starting in 1883 and, by 1885, had been expanded to fill the entire block. The roof of its oldest section is flat, slightly pitched and surrounded by a low parapet.
Village Hall, built in 1888, is two stories of locally made brick with a parapet richly decorated with brick banding and panels, according to its 1978 inventory form.
Another downtown building on Bridge Avenue stretches an entire city block and dates to 1905. In 2019, FOX 9 reported that it had been apartments, a cinema, a food store, a bar, a cafe and a hardware store before sitting vacant for several years. Brick buildings that share walls, carry flat roofs behind parapets and have changed use many times are where an old leak or a patched wall can stay hidden for years.
A downtown that plans for the river
A history of the Crow River compiled by the Delano Spirit of Community Trail Committee records major floods in 1897, 1916, 1952 and 1957, and calls the flood of 1965 the most recent major one in many memories. It adds that high waters plagued downtown business for many years.
Flooding here is not only history. One week before July 4, 2014, the city was scrambling to control flood damage, and the rising Crow River destroyed a local coffee shop. A 2016 FOX 9 report described more than 420 feet of removable flood wall downtown.
The National Weather Service's impact notes for the South Fork Crow River at Delano say flood walls may be installed on both sides of Bridge Avenue when the river reaches 18.5 feet and is rising, and that water may begin to flow over the bridge on Bridge Street at 21.8 feet.
For a buyer of a riverside building, that history is a reason to ask where mechanical and electrical equipment sits relative to past high water, how lower levels have dried out, and whether the masonry shows long-term moisture.
The Northwest Industrial Park
A January 2023 city project summary calls the city-owned Northwest Industrial Park an economic engine for the community, with 82 acres developed and 73 acres still to develop. It says the city was proposing road and utility extensions to serve demand for industrial space and growing interest in rail service.
Industrial buildings often have large low-slope roofs and heavy electrical service. Those are the biggest systems in the building, and they are the hardest to judge from the ground.
Commercial buildings we inspect
Quick answers
Does the Crow River flood history matter for a downtown Delano purchase?
It can. A local history of the river lists major floods in 1897, 1916, 1952, 1957 and 1965, and the National Weather Service says flood walls may be installed on Bridge Avenue as the river rises. Flood history is a fair reason to ask about lower levels, drainage and the height of mechanical and electrical equipment. An independent inspection gives the buyer something concrete to bring to the seller.
What should a buyer know about older brick buildings that share walls?
With shared party walls, one building's roof and drainage problem can show up next door. Delano's Eagle building is described as three brick structures joined by party walls, with the roof of its oldest section described as flat behind a low parapet. Flat roofs, parapet flashings and old storefront alterations are familiar places for hidden water entry, and a buyer is better off knowing which of those conditions are present before closing.
Why use thermal imaging on an industrial building?
With an infrared camera, a large low-slope roof can be read as a heat map, and wet insulation under the membrane stands out because it holds and releases heat differently from dry insulation. Pointed at heavy electrical equipment, the same camera can show one connection running hotter than the others around it. A January 2023 city summary puts 82 acres of the city-owned industrial park as developed, so industrial buildings are part of the local stock.
Sources
- City of Delano: Mayor's Proclamation, Sesquicentennial Observation 2026
- National Park Service: Eagle Newspaper and Job Printing, Minnesota Historic Properties Inventory Form (1978)
- National Park Service NPGallery: Eagle Newspaper Office record
- National Park Service: Delano Village Hall, Minnesota Historic Properties Inventory Form (1978)
- National Park Service NPGallery: Delano Village Hall record
- FOX 9: Couple restores historic building in Delano, Minn. for event space (August 10, 2019)
- Delano Spirit of Community Trail Committee: Crow River Bridges history page
- FOX 9: After crippling rain, Delano, Minn. has a new flood wall (April 29, 2016)
- NOAA National Water Prediction Service: South Fork Crow River at Delano (DELM5) flood impacts
- City of Delano: Northwest Industrial Park expansion project summary (January 2023)
Nearby towns
Commercial property inspection in Minnesota and Iowa · Home inspection in Delano
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