Commercial inspection in Redwood Falls, MN.

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

A commercial property inspection lets a buyer, owner or lender in Redwood Falls tell sound downtown buildings from tired ones, in a district the city's own plan says was platted in the 1860s, with many buildings dating from 1890 to 1930.

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Commercial buildings in and around Redwood Falls

Downtown's seven blocks and the move to Highway 19

Downtown Redwood Falls is a seven-block area originally platted in 1864, and many of its buildings went up between 1890 and 1930. The Hotel Francois was the largest building ever constructed downtown; it burned to the ground in a dramatic 1903 fire, and the current building was reconstructed in the image of the old one. The city's 2035 comprehensive plan adds that a number of downtown buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The same plan is frank about condition. It says retail and office activity has shifted to the Highway 19 corridor and that many of the brick structures are in substandard condition or vacant because businesses relocated to the highway. A city survey classified a number of buildings as having substantial or significant building deterioration, and many fronts have been altered with false fronts, with original window openings closed off for energy conservation.

Yet the plan also says that, although some buildings are in substandard condition, many are in good shape with many years of use left. That mix is why each building needs its own assessment: two brick fronts side by side can be in very different shape. Closed-up window openings and added false fronts change how a wall handles heat and moisture, and thermal imaging can point to where insulation is missing or wet behind them.

The east-side industrial park

Industrial land is a small slice of Redwood Falls: 256 acres, or 7.5 percent of the city, nearly all of it in the industrial park on the east end. Shop and warehouse buildings in a park like this fail differently from downtown brick. Roof seams and fasteners, slab edges, overhead door frames and unit heaters wear out on their own schedules, and a single failure can idle a small operation. A written assessment gives a buyer or lender a realistic picture of what the next several years will ask of the building.

Newer ground is being prepared too. The city's development website describes multi-phase plans for a business park at the brand-new Reflection Ridge development. New buildings bring their own questions, because installation mistakes in roofing, flashing and drainage tend to show up within the first few years.

A river that powered a mill and can overtop a bridge

The city's history says A.C. Burmeister installed the first electric light system in Redwood Falls in 1898 and dammed the Redwood River in 1903 for more power, creating Lake Redwood. Water has also been a risk. NOAA's gauge notes for the Redwood River list the Swayback bridge in Redwood Falls as overtopped at 8.5 feet, and the gauge record lists crests of 18.01 feet in March 1997 and 17.82 feet in March 2019. Buildings near a river corridor are worth checking for drainage, moisture at wall bases and the condition of anything that sits below grade.

Commercial buildings we inspect

Quick answers

Sources

• City of Redwood Falls: 2035 Comprehensive Plan
• City of Redwood Falls: History of Redwood Falls
• City of Redwood Falls: Business and Housing Development, Business Park
• NOAA National Water Prediction Service: Redwood River at Redwood Falls (gauge page)
• NOAA National Water Prediction Service: Redwood River at Redwood Falls (data feed)

Nearby towns

Commercial property inspection in Minnesota and Iowa · Home inspection in Redwood Falls