Staff photo by Stewart Moon
In the midst of an ongoing debate about valuing retail property, five “big-box” stores in Monroe County have appealed the assessments that will determine their property tax bills next year.
Tax representatives for Target, Best Buy, Lowe’s, Menards and the Kmart store on East Third Street all sent letters to Monroe County Assessor Judy Sharp’s office before the July 31 deadline, requesting an appeal.
That’s fewer than Sharp expected, but that’s about the only good news, she said.
So far, the county only knows what two of those stores — Lowe’s and Best Buy — would like to see as their new assessment, but Sharp’s office estimates the potential total refund to the national chains could total about $300,000, which would mean a similar reduction in future property tax revenue should they be granted their appeals.
Best Buy currently is valued at $49.21 per square foot, and the retailer’s lawyer, Paul M. Jones, has asked that the county lower that to $7.40 per square foot.
Sharp said Jones told her that’s based on average market rent for a leased Best Buy store, despite the fact that the Best Buy on Third Street owns its own building.
Lowe’s likely will keep the same request that it has currently awaiting review at the state level — a reduction from $74 per square foot to $30 per square foot, per its representatives at Indianapolis-based law firm Faegre Baker Daniels. There hasn’t yet been an official hearing for that case, first filed last year, before the Indiana Board of Tax Review, Sharp said Wednesday afternoon.
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