The settlement of a multi-year tax appeal will result in a 31-percent refund on four years of property taxes for a local hotel while appeals on two other years were withdrawn.
The refund will total $165,638.58 across tax years 2009 through 2012 for Shena, LLC, owners of the Best Western Riverview Inn & Suites on Paterson Street. As part of the settlement, the property owner agreed to withdraw its appeals for 2013 and 2014.
The property currently pays approximately $158,871.94 on its most recent tax bill, according to property records.
City Council passed a resolution (AR-140-18) approving the settlement of a tax appeal last night during its combined regular and pre-conference meeting. Shena, LLC had taken its tax appeal on Block 338, Lot 4.01 (1747 Paterson St.), to the Tax Court of the State of New Jersey for tax years 2009 through 2014.
The overall tax assessment of $2,433,700 for the Best Western was reduced by about 31 percent to $1,667,100 for the tax years 2009 through 2012, per the tax appeal settlement that was approved.
Here’s a breakdown of the refund by year, with some other details on assessment and property taxes for comparison, in this spreadsheet:
- 2009 – $37,355.73
- 2010 – $39,311.25
- 2011 – $44,194.49
- 2012 – $44,777.11
- TOTAL – $165,638.58
Overall, the property would have paid an estimated $526,482 in taxes over those four years (2009-2012). With the tax appeal settlement, total taxes will have been reduced by $165,638.58 to about $360,644 for the four years.
The 74-room hotel was built in 2004. Technically, it’s located on about 1.1 acres along Paterson Street, just off Routes 1&9 between East Milton Avenue and the Rahway River, adjacent to another hotel. The 92-unit Home2Suites by Hilton just behind it was built five years ago and approval included the ability to build a restaurant fronting the highway.
A public walkway along the Rahway River was constructed as part of the developments in the area, including Riverview Manor, a 13-unit townhome complex at the end of Lennington Street behind the two hotels that broke ground almost a decade ago.