The assessment of a Wright Township distribution center has increased $10 million due to a reverse appeal arguing the old value was too low, although it won’t fully benefit taxing bodies until the property’s tax break expires, Luzerne County records show.
State law allows school districts and municipalities to seek increased assessments so they won’t have to wait until their counties perform another reassessment of all values. Similarly, property owners have the right to file challenges annually if they believe their values are too high.
Local attorney Raymond Wendolowski has been obtaining reverse appeal increases for the Wilkes-Barre Area and Hazleton Area School Districts for years, and the the Crestwood School District retained him to start pursuing possible assessment increases in 2016, including the one for the Wright Township warehouse.
Owned by Conshohocken-based Exeter 545 Oak Hill LLC, the 500,000-square-foot property in the Crestwood Industrial Park is occupied by PepsiCo, according to assessment documents.
The property was originally assessed at approximately $13 million — $1 million for the land and $12 million for the structure.
Under the settlement, the total is increasing to $23 million this year, with the land remaining the same and the building rising to $22 million.
Before the change, the total real estate tax bill would be $222,742 based on current school, county and municipal tax rates. With the increase, the payment increases by $171,340, to a new total of $394,082.
The tax break on the property falls under the state’s Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance program, commonly called LERTA, which is for tracts in deteriorated areas. The break took effect in 2011 and expires the end of 2020, according to assessment records.
Wright Township officials structured their portion of the break more traditionally, requiring the owner to pay taxes on the land only for a decade as long as job creation commitments are met annually.
The county and school district decided half of the structure assessment would be taxed after three years in addition to the full land value.
As a result of the assessment hike, the county’s current receipt on half of the building will increase from $35,752 to $65,729. Crestwood will receive $114,289, an increase of $52,125.
The settlement also contained a different transitional total assessment that applied only to 2017. The property was valued at $20.46 million for that year.
Wendolowski said the final new assessment is fair based on the size and value of comparable warehouses in the county.
“It’s a significant increase and is warranted,” the attorney said. “It’s important for the public to know taxing authorities are doing their best to make sure all taxpayers are paying their fair share.”
An attorney for the property owner could not immediately be reached for comment.
