Commercial inspection in Jackson, MN.

By the Closer Look Inspectors team · Facts checked October 2026 against the sources listed below · About our inspectors

Before buying or financing in Jackson, a commercial property inspection shows how a building has weathered both age and water, from the brick storefronts of a downtown district built between 1880 and 1944 to river-edge properties where NOAA lists flooding of businesses along the non-leveed stretches at 14 feet.

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Commercial buildings in and around Jackson

Second Street's brick commercial blocks, 1880 to 1944

Jackson's downtown commercial district, built up in a four-block area along Second Street, is a National Register historic district; the National Park Service record for it is dated December 1987. The National Park Service nomination describes 34 buildings and one historic clock, built between 1880 and 1944. Most are faced in brown pressed or textured brick and most have buff limestone trim; 25 are two stories while nine are one story. The history behind them explains the brick: businesses were first housed in woodframe buildings that were often subject to fire, and were eventually replaced by more substantial and theoretically fireproof brick structures.

The nomination also records that most of the buildings had been altered at the storefront level, while most were intact above the first floor. That split is common on old main streets: new fronts and signs at the sidewalk, original masonry, cornices and roof framing overhead.

Old brick fronts on two-story buildings tend to share the same weak points: mortar joints and parapets exposed to weather, upper-floor windows, and roofs that were patched one tenant at a time. A buyer, owner or lender gets a clearer picture from a written assessment than from the street view.

Levees, the West Fork and flood context

Jackson sits in a valley of the West Fork of the Des Moines River. NOAA's gauge notes for the river at Jackson describe what happens as the water rises. At 13.5 feet the lower levees are overtopped. At 14 feet Highway 71 begins to flood, and flooding starts to affect homes and businesses along the non-leveed portions of the river. At 17.5 feet the highest levees are overtopped, causing major flooding of roads, homes and businesses. The gauge record lists a crest of 16.04 feet on June 26, 2024.

A commercial building near the river is not judged only by whether it flooded. Wet basements, damp wall bases and repairs made after high water can sit behind clean finishes for years. Thermal imaging can help point to moisture patterns in walls and floors that look normal to the eye.

A 300-acre industrial park at I-90 and Highway 71

The city sits where Interstate 90 meets U.S. Highway 71, and it says it has a 300-acre industrial park with strong and expanding industrial residents. Manufacturing and ag-service buildings differ from main-street retail: heavier floors, bigger roof spans, process equipment and loading areas. For a buyer or lender, the useful question is how much life is left in the roof, the floor slab and the major equipment.

Commercial buildings we inspect

Quick answers

Sources

• City of Jackson: About Jackson
• National Park Service: National Register nomination, Jackson Commercial Historic District
• National Park Service NPGallery: Jackson Commercial Historic District record
• NOAA National Water Prediction Service: West Fork Des Moines River at Jackson (gauge page)
• NOAA National Water Prediction Service: West Fork Des Moines River at Jackson (data feed)

Nearby towns

Commercial property inspection in Minnesota and Iowa · Home inspection in Jackson