Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Commercial Valuation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board upholds Union County valuations for multiple Lowe's stores after county cites market medians and MAI appraisal
Summary
County staff presented sales and income analyses for several Lowe's/Home Depot discount-warehouse stores, citing a median comparable price of about $124 per square foot and a median cap rate near 5.2%. The board voted to keep the county's valuations for the Lowe's properties.
Union County staff presented a consolidated market and income analysis for four Lowe's/Home Depot retail-warehouse properties and asked the Board of Equalization and Review to retain the county's existing valuations.
The county said it collected 14 sales of comparable big-box warehouse stores (13 Lowe's, 1 Home Depot) with a median dollar-per-square-foot of about $124 and a median sales price near $16.6 million. The county also referenced an M.A.I. appraisal performed in 2021 (used previously) and said indexing that earlier appraisal to present market conditions produced values near the current county figures.
Appellant submissions used substantially higher capitalization rates (8% to 8.5%) in their income-capitalization approach; county staff said the observed median cap rate from sales was about 5.2% and noted the cap-rate difference drives material valuation changes. "Those were the cap rates that were reported at the time of sale... the highest cap rate we even had was 7," the county reported while explaining its income approach.
After discussion the board voted to uphold the county valuations for the Lowe's parcels presented (Waxhaw, Indian Trail, and the multi-parcel Lowe's site). The board also approved related staff recommendations to leave the current values unchanged for those commercial parcels.
Votes at a glance: Waxhaw Lowe's (parcel 06162700) ' county value upheld; Indian Trail Lowe's (07069118C) ' county value upheld; four-parcel Lowe's site (09216076A/77A/78/88) ' county values upheld.
Why it matters: For large commercial properties the cap rate and choice of comparables drive assessed values; the board accepted the county's market rule and the 2021 MAI appraisal as consistent with the local market data.
What the county will do next: County staff will continue to monitor market transactions and update valuations when appropriate per revaluation cycles and professional appraisals.
