The plummeting property assessment of the Bell Center is the result of a “compromise,” Montreal’s chief assessor explained on Wednesday.
Bernard Côté explained to municipal elected officials that his department had decided to continue to apply a particular method of evaluating the building in order to avoid costly dispute proceedings from the owner of the Stadium.
This method (called the “income method”) was imposed by a court for the 2003 and 2007 assessment rolls, following a challenge from the Bell Center. Montreal has decided to buy peace by continuing to use this method – even if nothing obliges it to do so – rather than risk a new conflict.
“We chose to continue using the methodology retained by the TAQ to evaluate the building rather than embarking on a new evaluation with the cost method (or other) which would bring us to a higher value of the Bell Center, which which could cause a new challenge,” argued Bernard Côté, in response to an opposition elected official. “We believe that there would probably be a similar conclusion if we were still debating it in court. »
As its name suggests, the income method is very sensitive to a change in the income from a building. Like the reference date of the property assessment (1er July 2021) was in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, the evaluation was affected.
“We say to ourselves that it is better to continue like this: a satisfactory compromise situation rather than restarting the debate,” he added, after emphasizing that the legal procedures had been long and costly.
A plummeting assessment
The Press reported Monday that the Bell Center continues to escape the fate of almost all Montreal buildings and will see its tax bill drop for the fifth consecutive year next year.
The municipal assessment of the Montreal Canadiens’ home has decreased by approximately 40% since 2011, bringing with it the bill to be paid.
According to the City of Montreal, the Bell Center is currently worth 150 million, while it was valued at 256 million in 2011. At the same time, its property taxes fell from 10.8 million to 5.3 million over the same period. . The building was built in 1996 for 265 million, including the land. In 2015, a 100 million rejuvenation cure was announced by the Molson family.
The evaluation method used for the vast majority of Montreal buildings – that is, comparison with other similar buildings – would involve difficulties of application in this case, indicated Mr. Côté. “It’s a special building,” he emphasized. “There aren’t many comparable buildings for the Bell Centre. »
“The evaluations are made by the City assessor and they are made completely independently, with a method that is objective and recognized,” commented the president of Mayor Valérie Plante’s executive committee, Luc Rabouin, at the last meeting of the municipal council. He was responding to a question from a citizen who was outraged by this falling bill.
Groupe CH, owner of the Bell Centre, did not immediately comment on Bernard Côté’s statements.