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Top court affirms Power Plant’s property tax assessment
Barbara Grzincic//Managing Editor/Law//May 23, 2012
Top court affirms Power Plant’s property tax assessment
The Court of Appeals has upheld a property tax valuation of The Cordish Companies’ Power Plant Building and the adjacent Pier IV Office Building at a combined $38.1 million. Cordish argued the value should be $29.9 million, based in part on the fact that the land is leased from the city of Baltimore.
Cordish argued that a ground lease is always a drag on value, while the city’s Supervisor of Assessments claimed that, under the plain language of the tax law, a ground lease does not affect the valuation of commercial property.
The Court of Appeals agreed with neither position; instead, it held that a ground lease may affect the value of commercial properties, but that Cordish failed to show that it did in this instance.
Wednesday’s reported opinion is available as RecordFax #12-0523-23, 19 pages.
