April 1, 1996

Counterpoint: Wal-Mart assessment hammers governments

By

The parties had been unable to agree on its valuation for lack of existing comparable values — the facility is a warehouse of nearly 1 million square feet.

State law allows the assessor to use cost, market or income as approaches to determine value. The assessor had used building construction cost (about $35 per square foot) in prior valuations. Wal-Mart argued the property was not a specialty building. Thus, cost was not the proper method to determine value. It urged an income approach, which, according to the company, valued the property at $20 per square foot.

The parties have compromised at…

Christopher Wood
Christopher Wood is editor and publisher of BizWest, a regional business journal covering Boulder, Broomfield, Larimer and Weld counties. Wood co-founded the Northern Colorado Business Report in 1995 and served as publisher of the Boulder County Business Report until the two publications were merged to form BizWest in 2014. From 1990 to 1995, Wood served as reporter and managing editor of the Denver Business Journal. He is a Marine Corps veteran and a graduate of the University of Colorado Boulder. He has won numerous awards from the Colorado Press Association, Society of Professional Journalists and the Alliance of Area Business Publishers.
Categories: Columns Guest Opinion
Sign up for BizWest Daily Alerts
Closing in 8 seconds...