Wisconsin city’s dark-store exclusions justified, state Supreme Court rules

Tax assessors for the town of Delavan correctly excluded comparable dark-store valuations when setting a brand new property tax price for a Lowe’s Residence Heart in 2013, the state Supreme Courtroom dominated Thursday.

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Attorneys for Lowe’s had argued that assessors ought to have thought-about what six comparable vacant shops had been price after they revalued the house middle at $8.9 million. They argued that had the assessors factored within the vacant shops’ valuation the house middle can be price about $4.6 million.

A state appeals court docket dominated in 2021 that the assessors’ valuation enjoys a presumption of correctness. The state Supreme Courtroom upheld that call, ruling unanimously that the Wisconsin Property Evaluation Handbook recommends that assessors should not use darkish shops as comparable valuations and Lowe’s didn’t show the town’s assessments had been extreme.

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The court docket famous, nonetheless, that the ruling applies solely within the Devalan case and the handbook would not strictly prohibit utilizing darkish shops as comparable properties or provide any steerage on when a darkish retailer will be in comparison with an occupied property.

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Lowe’s legal professional Dan Devany did not instantly return an electronic mail in search of touch upon the ruling.