PHILADELPHIA-CAMDEN-WILMINGTON-ATLANTIC CITY-READING | Metro Development Thread

[mglan80]

^I hope that wasn't a sarcastic remark about us lenders?!

It's always nice to have an inside man. I also have a hard time believing the $350 psf. What would you use as comps?

--------------------------
Some other news:

The great BPG has purchased two other properties in downtown: the former McCready's florist and 4W5 at 5th and Market for apartment conversion; and the old China Garden restuarant on Market next to Happy Harry's for apartment/retail. Looks like things may be starting to come together. Of course BPG has a vested interest in this town now, so it's time to clean up the neighborhood.

Soynog, you still here?

[Valu8r]

Sarcastic to lenders... never! Thats how my bills get paid. Comps aren't a major problem for $350, can always go across the river to CL. Theyre not responding to the market anyway, they're creating it... Who'd have lent on CL without a huge capital outlay by BPG?

Always more to come with BPG and their friends in Philly. They ought to give them the key to the City...I didn;t see anyone else jumping into the market with both feet (except ING who put a ton into their building before anyone else had the ... uh...nerve)

[Xeelee]

I almost forgot about this town...

[Valu8r]

I was in Houston a couple of weeks ago working on a project... One of my favorite Cities, however I really would prefer to work there in January rather than July.

Absence of zoning is very novel, but seems to work just fine... One less thing us appraisers have to write about

[Lauden]

I have an honest question concerning the Christina Landing area. What is the property tax rate for the area? I've done some research but I'm having trouble determining what the tax laibility is going to be for the Riverfront Towers.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

[Valu8r]

The City of Wilmington is $1.3969/$100 of assessed value. Assuming you are in the Christina School District which you should be, their rate is $1.67/$100 and the County rate is up to $0.4778.

The toal then for FY2007 will be $3.5447/$100. Divide your assessment by 100 and multiply by 3.5447 and that will be your tax liability excluding any abatements or exemptions.

[Lauden]

Thanks for the reply Valu8r! Thsat brings up a good question. How would new construction be assessed? Would it be a percentage of the Purchase price or full value?

[Valu8r]

Ah ha... there, my friend, is the trick of New Castle County. Assessments on new construction are based solely on smoke and mirrors.

First, there is no calculation that you can use, therefore you cannot estimate what your assessment should be with any real accuracy. Theoretically, the assessment of new construction in the county is what the value of that construction "would have" been if it were there in its current state and condition on July 1, 1983. So, the County is left with assessors who are assigning a market value of the improvements 23 years prior to their construction. Are they right? usually not. I myself have appealed the assesments of 5 or 6 highrise office buildings in the city, and in each case their assessment was reduced substantially. The reason is two fold. They don't have access to the records prepared by the appraisal group who performed the mass re-val in 1985 for the 1983 assessment figure, and 2. No one who works in the assessment office has the knowledge or qualifications to value a significant property. Particularly 23 years retrospective.

However, on a relatively small property, they've pretty much got you as the cost of formally appealing typically outweighs the potential savings. Appeals must be submitted by March 1st, and are not retroactive.

[xzmattzx]

The River Tower is almost the same height as The Residences.

[greggpow]

Taxes at CL are a problem. I live in one of the townhomes and the assessed value is way out of whack with reality. If I remember right, the assessed value was 160k which at current city and county rates makes my yearly taxes almost 6k per year.

Assumming my townhouse is "worth" 500k, my taxes are at least double what a similarly priced home in other parts of Wilmington would pay. Many homes that have recently sold in the Rockford Park area for 500k have taxes around 2500.I talked to the assessor myself last year assumming there must be a mistake. He double checked "so he says" and said he "thinks" his assessment is correct. Like someone else mentioned... the assessment process is a joke.

If you've purchased a condo in CL I would assume you'll also have taxes around 5k. I'm hoping once enough people live over here we'll have the clout to get a reassessment. We'll see.

[Lauden]

Hmmm. I actually approached a realtor about 151 Christina Landing road, and end unit townhouse there. It's listed at 665,000 for sale. I asked what the yearly taxes were, here is her quote:

Thanks for your interest. This home has finally been assessed for the tax year
that started July 1,2006 thru June 30, 2007, as new construction takes longer.
Taxes are $3455.
Properties are not re-assessed here upon purchase, as in other areas.
If there were to be new assessments, the entire New Castle County
would be done all at the same time, and last time was 20+ years ago.
School taxes can only increase via referendum, for the pertinent school
district, with a majority vote from residents in that district, and County and
Wilmington City tax increases would be accomplished by a majority vote in
those legislative bodies.


Me thinks we're not getting the whole story.

[greggpow]

Lauden-

The tax figure she quoted you is the correct amount JUST for county and school taxes. City taxes are another $2360. You can pull up the county property info yourself at the county website and you'll see the assessed value will be around 160k which equates to just under 6k for ALL taxes.

If your condo's price is anywhere near the 400k you'll be paying 5- 6k too unless there is a community wide reassessment.

[mglan80]

Here's a few shots from the window...

The Renaissance Center is starting to poke out of the rooftops of lower Market.


And the garage...

[mglan80]

The garage steel work is all but finished. Also, it looks like Renaissance Center is topped out.



It seems like there should be at least two more floors. There are flanges for another set of columns on the top of the steelwork that's in place. Maybe that's normal.

[Joey D]

I hate to piss on the parade float, but the Renaissance Center is tiny.

Hopefully the facade and utility of the building make up for this.

[mglan80]

^Yeah, it's pretty unimpressive, but the original was really the same building just on a 5 story parking podium.

Anyway, here's a nice rendering of the Justison Landing project from Emory Hill's site:



Also, there's word that a grocery store chain is close to inking a deal on the south side of the river.

[Joey D]

I am really excited about Justison Landing. Too bad there will be no tower.

However, the other day I was standing on the 12th floor of the Courhouse (I had traffic court on the 5th, but rode up for a peek) and I must say that the WSFS, the two CL towers, and the Renaissance and Garage Buildings certainly make the city look less puny.

It was really devoid when there was that big, empty parking lot RIGHT across from the county courthouse.

[mglan80]

^Agreed. That lot killed that area. I still remember only a few years ago when King Street was lined with surface lots (where the courthouse is now). Whenever Pettinaro decides to renovate the Queen theater, those blocks will be respectable.

[xzmattzx]

Originally Posted by mglan80

^Yeah, it's pretty unimpressive, but the original was really the same building just on a 5 story parking podium.

Anyway, here's a nice rendering of the Justison Landing project from Emory Hill's site:



Also, there's word that a grocery store chain is close to inking a deal on the south side of the river.

Someone need to add the Children's Museum into that rendering in case that breaks ground.

[xzmattzx]

Renaissance Center is coming along well.