The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

Local News

February 6, 2010

UPDATE: Properties near Walmart appealing county tax assessments

By Joe Pinchot

HERMITAGE — The owners of three properties next to the Hermitage Walmart have filed assessment appeals in Mercer County Common Pleas Court.

The most significant of the parcels is the 10-acre lot on which has been built an L-shaped plaza to the south of Walmart, said Andrew K. Mudrinich, attorney for property owner GE Apartments Ltd., Akron, Ohio. This parcel is assessed at $757,500. The assessments of the other parcels were not immediately available.

Mercer County Revenue Director Michael P. DeForest said he would not comment on pending litigation.

Property taxes are based on a property’s assessment. The appeal concerns the property taxes paid to the county, the city of Hermitage and Hermitage School District.

According to the appeal filed Monday, GE Apartments appealed to the Mercer County Board of Assessment Appeals, which is made up of the Mercer County commissioners, but the board upheld the assessment in a Dec. 31 notice of decision.

According to Mudrinich, the fair market value upon which the assessment is based is higher than the market value of the property.

The initial appraisal done on the plaza property was “founded largely on projected rental revenues” that were “based on unduly optimistic projections.”

The plaza is at 56 percent occupancy.

“That’s the high-water mark since its inception in 2006,” Mudrinich said.

Plaza owners have been reducing their rental price over the years because of the lack of demand, he said.

Mudrinich said one of the things he wants to find out is who projected rental revenues for the purposes of the assessment. DeForest declined to comment.

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