An on-site reporter introduced a field segment from an abandoned Kmart on 9 Mile Road in Henrico County, describing broken windows, a vast asphalt lot and prolonged vacancy. "This Kmart opened in 1974 and closed about 25 years later, and it's just been sitting here ever since," the reporter said.

The segment argued local revenue and tax structures can incentivize leaving commercial properties unused: the reporter said counties often collect more tax revenue from commercial parcels than from farms or forests, and owners can claim depreciation benefits. "The company that owns this gets to sit back and write it off their taxes as a depreciating asset," the reporter said, and the result is widespread commercial vacancy and community eyesores.

Host Patrick Bate outlined local policy options discussed on the show to address such properties: stricter code enforcement for commercial and industrial parcels, mandatory vacancy-procedure requirements for monitoring and maintenance, higher community impact fees on abandoned lots, and zoning changes that reduce minimum acreage and enable targeted inclusion or redevelopment zones. Bate said these changes would shift incentives away from holding land vacant and toward community reuse or green space.

The program framed the Kmart example as one of many scattered across the country and tied it to broader concerns about public-equity firms, tax policy, and land-use rules that influence whether sites are redeveloped, left as parking lots, or converted to other uses.