Board affirms Ballston office assessment after appellant points to rent-roll error

A dispute over a single rent-roll entry for a Ballston office building did not persuade the Arlington County Board of Equalization to lower the county—s assessment.

Appellant Mr. Harmon told the board the county—s analysis mistakenly recorded Cambium Assessment Inc.—s in-place rent as $54.06 per square foot when the owner—s January 1 rent roll showed $46.13. Harmon said correcting that item would reduce the property—s average in-place rent from $47.56 to $46.27 per square foot and would lower the assessed value. He also disputed the county—s projection that operating expenses would decline in 2026 and urged the board to use the actual leases in place.

County staff said their test column used submarket guidelines and that excluding the tenant from the analysis would not be equitable; they defended their input choices and noted data limitations. After board questions about expense history versus single-year trends, a motion to confirm the county assessment at $46,854,400 carried by voice vote with no recorded opposition.

Harmon emphasized the rent-roll discrepancy: "If you go to page 35, you'll see that the actual rents in place were $46.13 a foot," a passage he pointed to repeatedly during his presentation. The board—s vote leaves the county—s 2026 assessment unchanged for the Ballston office property.