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Applicant withdraws appeal over Fashion Square mall assessment
Summary
An appeal seeking a lower assessment for a large vacant department‑store space in Fashion Square Mall was withdrawn after assessor staff signaled plans to change the assessment; the Board of Equalization accepted the withdrawal, leaving the current assessment unchanged.
The Albemarle County Board of Equalization accepted a withdrawal of an assessment appeal for a large department‑store unit in Fashion Square Mall, leaving the current assessment in place.
The withdrawal came after a representative for the property owner, identified in the hearing as a representative of Fashion Square Assets, described the subject as a big‑box department store that had chronic vacancy and was being marketed at $15 per square foot triple‑net. The representative told the board the owner had purchased the building in 2020 for roughly $36 per square foot and presented income and cost analyses showing a stabilized, fully leased income value of about $11,000,000 before lease‑up discounts and a requested valuation of approximately $7,500,000 after discounts.
The board heard that the property’s vacancy rate in the owner’s packet was listed at about 66.7% in the subject column and that peer properties in the area showed significantly lower vacancy and higher asking rents. The representative said the assessor’s current land valuation relied on the cost approach rather than the income approach the owner preferred for an income‑producing property.
At the hearing the assessor’s staff indicated they intended to pursue an increase in the assessment after their review. In response, the applicant advised the board of an intention to withdraw the appeal. The board made and seconded a motion to accept the withdrawal and voted in favor; the application was withdrawn and the assessment remains as previously set.
Because the applicant withdrew, there was no final change to the assessment imposed by the board at the hearing. Materials submitted for the appeal — including the rent roll dated 01/01/2025, annual operating statements for 2023 and 2024, comparable property data, and the owner’s income‑and‑cost analyses — remain part of the administrative record.
The board’s acceptance of the withdrawal means the assessor’s office will keep the current assessment in place unless the assessor initiates a separate reassessment process or the owner refiles an appeal.
