WINDHAM — The owner of an Indian Rock Road strip mall and the town are at odds over the property's assessed value, with their projections millions of dollars apart.
A tax abatement was requested for The Commons at Windham Inc., an 11.7-acre site with two buildings of retail businesses. An appeal is being considered by the state Board of Tax and Land Appeals, which has about a 1,000-case backlog.
On March 28, the board ordered the two parties to try to settle their differences without a hearing.
The differences rest on the town's $7,585,780 current assessment for the property, and the owner's estimation of the property's assessed value, $4,230,000.
Town Assessor Rex Norman said he arrived at the town's figure for the 2006 tax year, from April 1, 2006, to March 31, 2007, based on measurements and other information received for the property at 25 Indian Rock Road.
The owner arrived at its figure based, in part, on size calculations, rents and vacancies and the capitalization rate. The rate is related to the property's annual income stream, and would be taken into account by a potential investor, Norman said.
Both sides agree the property's value should have increased between the 2005 and 2006 tax years.
That is because in 2006, the town conducted a revaluation of all property, bringing them to full market value. The average increase in assessed value was 43 percent, Norman said.
The Commons at Windham rose to $7.5 million from an assessed value of $3.7 million in 2005. The owner paid $72,101 in taxes in 2005, $116,285 in 2006 and $122,128 in 2007.
On Monday, the two sides appeared before selectmen to work out their differences. The Commons was represented by lawyer Mark Lutter.
Selectmen, however, stopped public discussion of the matter after board members complained they did not have current information.
Selectmen asked the two parties to sit down together and compare notes before returning to the board.
The Commons at Windham features a variety of stores, including jewelry, accounting, fitness and fence businesses.
