PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – The owners of 111 Westminster Street is asking the city to adjust the value of the vacant skyscraper known as the Superman building – a request that would reduce the amount of taxes owed on the property.
David Sweetser, whose real estate investment firm High Rock Development owns the Superman building, has filed a property tax appeal with the Providence tax assessor’s office that would lower the taxes on the building that has been empty since last April, according to spokesman Bill Fischer.
“The process is ongoing,” Fischer told WPRI.com. “Obviously we’ve been attempting to articulate for the better part of two years that there are real repercussions to leaving the building vacant.”
Related: ‘Superman’ owners seek $39M from taxpayers
Fischer said Sweetser has been discussing the appeal with the city since last October, but declined to discuss the details of the negotiations. He said an unoccupied Superman building could driver down other property values downtown because “assessments spiral downward when buildings are empty.”
The Superman building is a 350,000-square-foot Art Deco skyscraper that was built in 1928. It is currently valued at $29,686,200, meaning that High Rock’s annual tax bill for 2014 is $1,090,967, according to the tax assessor’s office.
The city’s commercial property tax rate is $36.75 per $1,000 of assessed value.
Any city taxpayer is eligible to appeal their property value. They must first file an application with the assessor’s office and then appear in front of the Providence Board of Tax Assessor Review. The board’s members are not listed on the city’s website, but meetings take place at the Providence Water Supply Board on Academy Ave.
The board met last week, but has not discussed 111 Westminster Street at any point over the last year, according to a WPRI.com review of agenda items.
“The owners of 111 Westminster have reached out to the tax assessor’s office to discuss their hopes of reaching an agreement for an adjusted value for the building,” Meaghan McCabe, a spokesperson for the city, told WPRI.com.
Sweetser announced Wednesday he is seeking $39 million in state support to help turn the building into a mixed-use facility that would include office space and rental apartments, a project he says will create more than 1,000 jobs in Rhode Island’s capital city.
The plan calls for the General Assembly to create a program that would have the state make four annual $9.75-million payments to help renovate the building. He is also pledging to contribute $500,000 to revitalize Kennedy Plaza as part of the deal.
The legislation would ask the R.I. Department of Administration to establish a procedure where up to $9 million of the original state money would be returned to fund future projects. Sweetser has also pledged to buy a private completion bond that would guarantee the project be finished.
High Rock would not receive any state money until the renovation is completed, according to Sweetser.
The legislation still has not been introduced, but will be sponsored by Sen. Josh Miller, D-Cranston, and Rep. John Carnevale, D-Providence.
Dan McGowan ( dmcgowan@wpri.com ) covers politics, education and the city of Providence for WPRI.com. Follow him on Twitter: @danmcgowan