From the Indianapolis Business Journal:
Marion County is granting Simon Property Group Inc. a $2.4 million refund, after a tax review board cut the value of two ailing malls roughly in half.
Simon prevailed before the Indiana Board of Tax Review in each of two cases, which covered Lafayette Square Mall and Washington Square Mall for multiple years.
“We were surprised it went completely their way,” Marion County Assessor Joseph O’Connor said. In each case, the review board chose Simon’s values over the county’s, rather than arriving at an in-between value, which is also an option.
O’Connor plans to appeal both decisions to the Indiana Tax Court, but said Simon will get its refund in the meantime because he doesn’t want to risk racking up interest charges while cases are pending.
The two malls’ declines are well-documented, but the county and Simon were nowhere close to agreement in their appraisals.
Marion County had valued Lafayette Square at $35 million in 2006, for example, while Simon argued it was worth $15 million.
Likewise, the county’s appraiser valued Washington Square at $22 million for 2006, while Simon’s appraiser pegged it at $12 million.
The lowest value that Indianapolis-based Simon presented for Washington Square was $9.5 million for 2010.
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See the full article here:
http://www.ibj.com/article?articleId=37369
