Business & Tech

Renaissance Drops Request for City Aid, Still Gets Tax Break

Downtown Highland Park shopping center will likely see its property tax assessment reduced.

After asking the Highland Park City Council to extend the length of its required payments, Renaissance Place withdrew the request today, according to Deputy Highland Park City Manager Ghida Neukirch.

Choosing not to get assistance from the City, the downtown shopping center is seeking help from the Lake County Board of Review and will be getting some, according to Moraine Township Assessor Patty Powers.

Over the last two years, Renaissance has seen its assessed value drop approximately 20 percent, from $5,011,288 in 2011 to $4,093,303 this year. A further appeal has been filed with the Board of Review for the taxes due in 2014 and certain help will be coming for the building formerly occupied by Saks Fifth Avenue.

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“The building formerly occupied by Saks will get a 50 percent reduction on the value of the building,” Powers said. The value of the land itself will remain constant. Shopping center ownership has also appealed its current assessment seeking a lower value for the taxes due next year.

Though a lower assessment does not guarantee a smaller tax bill, if Renaissance has a successful appeal and like properties did not ask for a review, it is likely there will be a real estate tax savings, according to Powers.

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Renaissance Place currently pays substantially more taxes than Port Clinton Square. “Port Clinton is currently in the $1.98 range (per square foot) and we are in the $5.81 range,” Renaissance Property Manager Christine Fischer said at a Sept. 23 City Council meeting. “It is harder to compete when we have to pass it on to our tenants.”

Representatives of Renaissance did not return calls to Patch for comments on either of these developments.

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