Blair, Benjamin A. (2021). Cases in brief: Nursing home valuation dispute can be resolved despite dispute on building size where size is unrelated to divergent valuations. Appraisal Journal, 89 (3), 144-146.
This Appraisal Journal brief provides information about Joilet Township High School District 204 v. Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board, Illinois Appellate Court 3rd District; June 22, 2021, 2021 IL App (3d) 190477.
Abstract:
The Parc at Joliet (Parc) owns a skilled nursing home in Will County, Illinois. Most of the facility was built in 1969. The facility includes 203 beds, of which only 8 are private; the other 195 are semi-private. The facility also includes therapy and dialysis areas, nursing stations, a dining room, and various other administrative and utility areas. The Joliet Township record card for the property lists the building size as 63,894 square feet situated on 2.4393 acres; a 2007 deed lists the lot size as only 2.32 acres. For 2014 and 2015, Will County (County) assessed the property at a market value of $4,369,977, of which $583,719 was attributed to land. Parc filed appeals with the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board (PTAB) for its 2014 and 2015 assessments, contesting the value of the improvements. Joliet Township High School District 204 (District) intervened in the appeal. After hearing the evidence, PTAB determined that the county’s assessments of Parc were too high, agreeing with Parc’s appraiser’s valuation of $2 million, or $9,852 per bed. PTAB credited the appraiser’s experience and the credibility of his analysis, while giving little weight to the assessor’s witness, who failed to address the unique characteristics of the property. The District appealed to the appellate court. The evidence in this case established that regardless of the square footage of the facility or the acreage of the lot, the County’s valuations of the property were too high and should be reduced. For that reason, the court affirmed the PTAB’s decisions.