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County sets Rushmore Plaza (DoubleTree) hotel value at $16.3 million after appraisal review
Summary
Pennington County commissioners accepted a third-party appraisal and set the 2026 assessed value of Rushmore Plaza LLC's DoubleTree hotel at $16,300,000, rejecting the owner's request to account for an unfinished property-improvement plan in a way that would lower the taxable value.
The Pennington County Board of Commissioners on April 30 adopted a staff recommendation and set the assessed 2026 value of Rushmore Plaza LLC's DoubleTree by Hilton at $16,300,000.
Trevor Abernathy of the county's Equalization Office told the board he had hired an independent appraiser to provide a market opinion after the property's 2023 assessment and subsequent court proceedings. Abernathy said the restricted appraisal placed the real-estate component of the hotel at $16,300,000 and that the county's income-model assessment previously produced a higher number.
"We hired Craig Steinle to write a third-party appraisal to get an outside opinion on our value," Abernathy said, recommending the board follow that external appraisal. He told commissioners the appraisal excluded personal property because the hotel sits on leased ground and noted a history of litigation and negotiated assessments going back to 2023.
Jared Nooney, the owner's attorney, argued that the hotel's ongoing property-improvement plan (PIP) and roughly $3.5 million spent on improvements by Nov. 1, 2025, were not reflected in the appraiser's conclusions. "If you back out the 3.5 million dollars for the PIP that was expended as of 11/01/2025, you get to $12,800,000," Nooney said, urging a lower valuation.
Commissioners questioned both sides about comparables, per-room valuations and whether audited income or tax returns could better substantiate revenue assumptions. Abernathy said the county had limited access to the appraiser's restricted narrative and that staff would need more data to reconcile income-model differences.
After discussion and a motion, the board voted to set the property value at $16,300,000, aligning the tax roll with the third-party appraisal. The decision followed a formal motion and recorded voice vote.
The board directed staff to retain the restricted appraisal in members-only files and to continue looking for documentation that would explain remaining differences between the county's income approach and the outside appraisal.
