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Union County staff defends 2025 valuation for partially completed mini-warehouse in Waxhaw
Summary
County appraisers told the Board of Equalization that a new mini-warehouse near Providence Road was assessed below market on a 100% complete basis and that partial completion at Jan. 1, 2025, produced a reduced assessed value; the appellant declined to attend but requested the record be made for potential further review.
Union County appraisers told the county Board of Equalization and Review that a partially completed mini-warehouse development near South Providence Road and Highway 16 in Waxhaw was assessed lower than comparable market sales when projected to 100% completion, and they recommended no upward adjustment for the 2025 valuation date.
County presenter Joe Hunter described the property for the taxpayer listed as GSI Providence Waxhaw Owner LLC as approximately 75% complete on Jan. 1, 2025, with a building area of 122,816 square feet. Hunter said the county's 100%-complete estimate would value the property at $8,372,200 (about $68 per square foot). Comparable sales for completed similar properties showed prices nearer $125 per square foot and median sale prices around $13.1 million.
Hunter told the board the county therefore believed the assessed cost-based value for the partially complete building was "significantly lower than what the market is," and that staff saw no immediate need to adjust the 2025 assessment upward. He also said the appellant had indicated they would submit additional evidence (income approach, cap rate, pro forma) later, but none had been received prior to the hearing; the appellant declined to attend the hearing and asked that the case be made so they could pursue a later Pretrial Conference (PTC) if desired.
Board members questioned how partial completion is treated. County staff explained the office typically places properties on the tax roll using cost-based methods while construction is incomplete and does not apply an income approach until a property is producing income. Hunter confirmed the county's 75% completion calculation produced a total assessed value of about $5,739,900 for the land and building at Jan. 1, 2025.
The board recorded the presentation and moved the case to deliberation; no formal change to the assessment was made at the hearing pending any additional evidence the appellant provides.
The county warned that because the site was not yet income-producing at the valuation date, the office did not rely on an income-capitalization approach for 2025 and would update the record in the next valuation cycle if the property reached completion and produced income.
