Union County panel upholds assessment on Strykers 2 Inc. soccer complex turf

Union County's Board of Equalization and Review on Tuesday voted to uphold the county's assessed valuation for Strykers 2 Inc., rejecting the property owner's request to lower the value placed on an artificial turf soccer field.

The appeal centered on how the county calculated replacement cost and depreciation for the synthetic turf installed five years ago; the owner argued the county's method produced an excessive value while county appraisers defended using Marshall & Swift cost tables and a 50% depreciation for a five-year-old field.

Andrew Steedman, the property owner and appellant, told the board he and his partners paid $269,000 for turf and installation in 2019 and provided bids for a new, comparable field. "We paid $269,000 for the project for the turf and installation in all the stone base," Steedman said. He said contractor quotes for a new, 55,200-square-foot field on a separate project ranged from about $8 to $14 per square foot and that a five-year-old surface has low resale value.

County staff said their mass-appraisal process used Marshall & Swift cost tables to estimate current replacement cost; county staff told the board that Marshall & Swift lists an average synthetic-field cost of $20.63 per square foot for a field of this type. "According to Marshall and Swift, we have to put down an average synthetic field like this is $20.63 a square foot," the county appraiser said, and added that he "agreed with the appellant that the soccer field would last no more than about 10 years," so the county applied 50% depreciation for a roughly five-year-old surface.

Board members questioned whether the owner's original invoice or proof of payment should control the initial cost estimate versus the mass-appraisal approach. The board discussed whether artificial turf is an improvement to real estate (not personal property) and noted state appraisal rules require current-cost schedules for reappraisal rather than relying solely on an owner's historical purchase price.

After deliberation the board moved to accept the county's valuation. The chair announced, "So motions carried for the value to remain the same at a million $5,100." The board also noted the appellant will be notified of the decision in writing and was invited to remain for the deliberation.

The county appraisal staff and the owner agreed to exchange documents after the hearing; the board suggested the owner provide proof of payment or invoices to the county for review, but the official decision to uphold the assessment was recorded at the meeting.